A World Divided
by Ogro
Summary: Postwar. Sequel to Power of a Thousand Spirits. Aang, Zuko, and the others all learn just how fragile the world can be as tension is rising between the four Nations once again. ZutaraTaangSukka&many more. Now Complete!
1. The Waterbender Returns

**Author's Notes: Yeah! The sequel to 'Power of a Thousand Spirits' is here! I'd highly recommend you go read that first before reading this. To all my old readers—glad to have you back, even though it hasn't been that long! I couldn't resist waiting too long. It's out earlier than I expected—I originally planned to release this when I was finished with Chapter 5, but I've been extremely busy and it's been hard to write. The beginning chapters are always hard. Only Chapters 2 and 3 are already written :(**

**If you've noticed, this is "Book 4: Air, Chapter 1" instead of Chapter 6. I left off on Chapter 5, Power of a Thousand Spirits, in that same story. It wouldn't make sense to start off a story and name it Chapter 6, so since it's a year later, I'm calling it Chapter 1. It is the beginning of the autumn season.**

**Haha, this might be just me, but I thought the title of this chapter would be funny, and kind of appropriate XD**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 1: The Waterbender Returns_

The old woman was cutting up seal parts to make into jerky emotionlessly, concentrating only on the cutting. She tried not to think of much these days, because she did not want to become too hopeful. It has been too long since her grandchildren left. Every day she would stand outside of the city, watching the ocean for any signs of a ship approaching, bearing her granddaughter, her grandson, or even their father. The people of the Southern Water Tribe were desperate for news.

She sighed deeply, putting the knife down. She could not do it. They brought up too many memories. _Seal jerky used to be Sokka's favorite food..._ Her breath rose in thin, wispy columns as her eyes watered, but she stubbornly wiped them away. Instead, she turned to the rest of her home.

It was a large, circular ice hut, a roaring fire situated in the middle in a pit. Tribal decorations and other items of the home were on the ice walls, and across from the kitchen was a wooden loom. She took up sewing as a sort of hobby not long ago. She had done it years ago, but after the Northern Water Tribe members came to the South, things got much easier. There was much more free time.

The building started immediately after they came. The tiny Southern Water Tribe soon evolved into a small city, and they would have built more if the population was greater. Instead, they worked on building larger and more efficient homes. The old woman looked around her large ice hut, which was too big for just one person. She always felt so alone.

After Sokka left, things got harder for the Southern people. He was the only real hunter of the tribe, so once he was gone there were some food shortages. That winter was difficult for them. They were struggling to survive.

When they wouldn't be able to take it much longer, Pakku and the other waterbenders from the North came. They nurtured the village back to health. The healers they brought helped the sick and wounded women who went out and tried hunting for the first time in their lives.

That same year, around the time spring ended, the other small villages all around the South Pole came to their small city, and with the increased population the city became larger. For the first time in one hundred years, the Southern Water Tribe was united as one.

As the old woman bent down to tend to the fire, a younger woman of the village rushed into her home, pushing past the seal skin entrance. "Kanna, there are ships coming!" she breathed, panicked. Kanna pushed herself up and retrieved her thick coat, following the woman outside.

"What Nation are they?" she asked her, perfectly calm. If they were Fire Nation, they would be in trouble. Pakku left to return to his Northern Water Tribe some time in the middle of the summer, leaving only a few waterbenders to defend the city.

"I don't know!"

By the time Kanna got outside, most of the city was assembled near the walls, staring out at the ocean fearfully. Now, the city of the Southern Water Tribe was modeled slightly differently than the Northern Tribe. It was composed of four main overlapping "circles" of ice, all easily able to fit sections of the city. The lowest one to the water level was facing the small bay, where the ships were approaching from. The lower circle was filled with canals just like the Northern Water Tribe. Kanna's own home was there.

Next were the two higher circles, both evenly leveled. They were right next to each other, leaving only a small space in between them. Up here were the multi-level homes, the healing huts, and the training areas. And behind them, still higher up, was the highest circle, situated right between the other two. On here was the Palace, reserved for when Hakoda, the rightful Chief, returned home. To get there, one needed to either cross the bridges from the twin circles, or enter a gate from the lower circle. These circles weren't meant to separate the different classes of people. Pakku and his waterbenders just wanted to design the city to be grand and magnificent.

The huge wall of thick ice was far ahead of them, protecting the whole bay. They operated just like the ones from the Northern Water Tribe, Pakku informed her. Since it was such a distance, the citizens weren't able to identify the ships that were approaching. When they neared the walls, the people couldn't see them anymore. The frost from their breath stopped rising.

The gates open, letting the ships pass. The people finally were able to see what kind of ships they were. They were Water Tribe! The men that went off to war were returning, with one extra ship—one she recognized as Pakku's.

* * *

"I...don't...remember...it...being...this...cold!" Katara muttered, teeth chattering. She held the red and gold cloak close to her, struggling to take the heat from it. Sokka was in the same condition next to her. 

"It's...because...we...haven't...been... home... in so long!" he replied. "But it's... changed... so much!"

Katara was too freezing to be in awe of the walls as they passed through them, or even when she laid her eyes on the city. For Agni's sake, summer had only just ended! Hakoda and the other soldiers were also just as cold, but they tried harder not to show it. Only Pakku and his men, on the other ship, seemed unaffected.

For the last year, Katara, Sokka, and the others had to stay in the Fire Nation. There was so much that needed to be done. First of all, they had to repair the city. The war damaged it more than any other. When that was done, Zuko had his coronation, which was followed by more festivals and celebrations. On top of that, they had to completely reform the government and the Fire Nation had to pay compensations for all the damage they had done against other places, as well as return any conquered land to its rightful Nation. To top it all off, there were small groups of people that were determined to take Zuko off the throne, and even get the war started again! These Ozai-extremists were popping up all over the place.

After a while, many of them thought it was time to return home again, at least for a little while. Katara and Sokka wanted to see their Gran-Gran again, Haru wanted to see his parents, Malu wanted to go back to her people, and so on. They decided to split up for a month and meet back in the Fire Nation when they were done. Of course, any of them were allowed to just leave it all behind them and return to their normal lives. But each of them were too loyal to their friends to do that.

Malu left for the northeastern Earth Kingdom, which now became known as Air Theocracy lands. The lands were given to the Air Nation by King Kuei, who returned to Ba Sing Se to rule the Earth Kingdom the right way. The people of the Northern Air Temple integrated into their society, and they became Air Theocracy people by spirit, even if they couldn't by blood.

After the second battle of Sozin City, Teo decided to stay in the Fire Nation with them. He went right to work on repairing the Fire Nation as a whole, and he even came up with the steam train, a fusion of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom technology. He apparently had a flair for inventions, just like his father.

"Come on, it's not that cold," Hakoda said to Sokka and Katara, laughing.

"Easy for you to say! You're wearing Water Tribe clothing!" Katara retorted. She and Sokka lost all of their thicker, warmer Water Tribe clothes way back when Appa was stolen. The two siblings were now dressed as Fire Nation people.

* * *

When the wooden ships laid down their anchor, the people of the Southern Water Tribe were laughing and cheering and crying out their greetings. Kanna had eyes only for Katara and Sokka, waiting eagerly for her little Katara to rush out, a perfect imitation of her mother, and run into her arms. Instead, a young Fire Nation woman stepped off of the ship. She carried herself with the grace of a Fire Nation royal, wrapped tightly in a red and gold cloak, her golden bangles twinkling on her wrists, and a small ornament in her hair. 

Kanna's eyes widened. Who was this woman? It couldn't be her little Katara, could it? Next to the woman came a strong and mature Fire Nation warrior, a magnificent sword sheathed to his hip. He was also wrapped in a thick cloak, but this one was brown. His whole head was covered in brown hair, and he too had the Fire Nation ornament in the back of his head. He lumbered behind his sister, carrying large, green and gold armor. The only thing that told her it was Sokka was the boomerang on his back and his familiar machete and club on his hips, next to the sword. As they came closer, Kanna was able to see their deep, blue eyes as they looked around the townspeople, apparently looking for someone.

The woman looked straight at her, and her face lit up into a smile. She nudged her brother and pointed, and the two came pushing through the other warriors towards Kanna. In that moment that she saw the woman's smile, Kanna saw the old Katara, the young, hopeful, and passionate girl. This was the only thing that stopped her from stepping back, away from these two strangers.

"Gran-Gran!" Katara said happily, hugging her. Sokka offered a strained smile as he struggled to carry the heavy, strange armor. Kanna smiled at them.

"Welcome home," she said warmly. "...Or do you no longer call this small village your abode?" Katara's mouth dropped open.

"Of course this is still our home!" she replied, offended and shocked. Before anyone else could comment, Hakoda came up to them.

"Gran-Gran," he said with a smile, hugging her.

"Hakoda! It is so good to see our Water Tribe full again," she greeted. "Tell me, what has happened around the world?"

"The war has ended, and we have won. We are at peace again," he answered. "All thanks to Aang, Katara, Sokka, and all of their other friends."

"Aang?"

"The Avatar, Gran-Gran!" Sokka reminded her. Truthfully, Kanna had never even thought about the young boy much.

"They have so much to tell, right kids?" Hakoda said, looking to the two of them.

"Yeah, sure," Katara replied half-heartedly. Sokka's face was turning blue as he struggled to hold all of the armor in his arms.

"I would love to hear them," Kanna said warmly. Though inwardly, she wanted to be alone, away from these two strangers.

"The city has changed so much," Hakoda said, looking around at it all. Katara had her arms crossed, a disgruntled look on her face. Sokka's dragon-like helm fell from the pile of armor, but he just barely caught it with his foot. "Tomorrow, we will have a great celebration, but for now we must rest," Hakoda declared.

"Come to my home for now. You will go up to the Palace later," Kanna said, starting to walk in the direction of her ice hut.

"You mean, we get to live in the _Palace_?" Sokka asked, bewildered. He kicked the helm back up to the top of the pile, where it rolled down to his head.

"Of course. Your father _is _the Chief," she pointed out.

"Why don't you live with us? Why is your home down here?" Hakoda asked, his eyes roaming all over the place.

"I like it," she responded simply, pushing away the leathery skin. The four of them went into her round home, where Sokka promptly dropped his load of armor.

"That's better," he said, stretching his arms. "Nice place." He and Katara sat down next to the fire. Katara said nothing. Kanna half-expected the fire to bend to her will. After a moment, Katara shed her outer cloak. As soon as she did, Kanna's eyes widened in surprise and anger.

"Young lady, put some clothes on!" she commanded, taking on her motherly role to them once again. Katara was dressed in very revealing Fire Nation clothes—a long skirt and a small wrap for her upper body. Her whole midriff was showing!

"I'm fine the way I am, Gran-Gran," she replied, a little coldly.

"You both dress as if you've been living in the Fire Nation all this time," she said angrily.

"Well... we have," Sokka admitted. "They need our help."

Her grandchildren, helping the Fire Nation? She had no idea what they were doing all this time, but she did not expect that. Of course she knew that the losing country in war needed help setting up a new leader and such, but what were _they_ doing?

"What have you been doing there?" Kanna asked them, voicing her thoughts. She spoke a little more softly this time.

"Pretty much helping them stay on their feet," Sokka answered. "Like stopping uprisings, helping with repairs, signing peace treaties with the other Nations..."

"Those are political problems, and that is not something children should be doing," she said sternly.

"Kanna, they've been through a lot," Hakoda said to her, in their defense. "They've helped us more than you can imagine."

"What do you think we did?" Katara asked her, emotionless.

"I thought you traveled to the North Pole just to help the Avatar learn waterbending. I thought you were just spreading hope and letting the world know the Avatar was alive," she spoke truthfully.

Sokka scratched his head. "Well, we did that, and more."

"What do you mean?"

"I guess you can say they were right in the middle of it all," Hakoda confessed, smiling.

"We did a lot of fighting, if you must know," Katara added, speaking coldly. "I fought, and I killed. We were there, right in the middle of the fight with Fire Lord Ozai. I made friends. I fell in _love_!"

Kanna held a hand over her chest, utterly shocked. Her grandchildren, killers? They were no longer innocent little children. They were Fire Nation, and their eyes, she just noticed, were shadowed by war.

But all she could say was, "With the Avatar? You, and... Aang?"

"What? No, of course not," Katara said, raising an eyebrow. All traces of anger were gone from her voice. "I'm in love with Prince Zuko, Ozai's son."

Kanna fainted.

* * *

"Good thing you caught her, Katara," Sokka said. "With her old age, she could've really gotten hurt." 

"Yeah, I know," she answered, sounding a little irritated.

"So what's your problem today?" he asked his sister. Hakoda was outside, doing who knew what. Katara was sponging Kanna's head. It had been a couple of minutes since she fell unconscious, but it could have been longer if Katara didn't act fast and catch her with a soft bed of water.

"I don't know... Gran-Gran has been acting like she hates us," she said tiredly.

"Why would she hate us?" Sokka asked, surprised.

"Maybe because we seem more Fire Nation than Water Tribe now?"

"Yeah, but that wouldn't give her a reason to hate us," Sokka pointed out. As they were both looking at each other, one of Kanna's eyes winked open, and closed again. "You did throw a lot at her at once, though. Maybe she just couldn't take it all."

"I guess. But I just wanted to get the point across to her that we're not little kids anymore," she answered, shrugging.

"You go and change before she has a heart attack," Sokka said to her. "I can watch her for a little bit."

"Oh, fine," she responded, handing the wet cloth to him. She liked her new clothes. She had taken to dressing like a Fire Nation girl in the hopes that the people would accept her and Sokka a little more easily. Aang and a few of them did the same. Others, like Shuang, Nodoka, Keioushi, and Malu, stoutly refused to change themselves in order to fit in.

A few minutes later, when she came back, she was back in thin blue clothing, much like what she used to wear before the end of the war. She placed her Fire Nation clothing in a pile next to Kanna's bed. "Your turn, Sokka," she said, grinning. He nodded and left. As she was braiding her hair back the way it used to be, Kanna opened her eyes.

"Now there is the Katara that I know," she said, smiling. Katara didn't answer or give any indication that she heard her. "Why do you think that I hate you?"

Katara finished braiding her hair, staring at her grandmother calmly. "You hate the Fire Nation," she stated.

"They have kept this war going for the last hundred years, Katara. Many people do not like them," she said gently.

"You don't know the whole story!" Katara yelled, standing up. She paced around the hut, taking deep breaths. Once she calmed down slightly, she went to Kanna's loom and took a few blue beads that she normally used in her designs. "So much has happened since I've last seen you. I've done a whole lifetime's worth of adventuring in less than a year. I've fought the Prince of the Fire Nation, and brought him to our side, and eventually fell in love with him. His sister eventually joined us. I've seen friends die. Me, Aang, and Sokka are known around the whole world as heroes. Why don't you understand we've changed?"

"I do understand."

"Then why are you so prejudiced against the Fire Nation? Our goal is to show the world that they're really not evil. Zuko, the Prince, is now the Fire Lord. He's on our side. In the past, the Fire Nation destroyed the Air Nomads. Now, we're trying to restore them." Kanna noticed how she included herself in the Fire Nation. "Did I mention we've found some more airbenders? They're already starting their Nation all over again. I'm friends with the leaders of all of the Nations. Can't you understand that we've changed, and the world has changed?"

Kanna smiled warmly, and stood up from her bed. She put her hand on Katara's shoulder. "I would like to hear all about it. Everything, from the beginning."

At that moment, Sokka barged in through the door, looking almost exactly as he did before, except for his hair and the sword. "Am I interrupting anything?" he asked sheepishly, once the two stopped and looked at him.

"No, you aren't," Katara said. "But now that you're here, we can tell Gran-Gran all about everything that's happened."

* * *

Sokka and Katara told her everything, from the moment they left the South Pole to the moment they came back. They told her about their trip to Kyoshi Island (at which point Sokka fled the room, claiming that he had to go to the bathroom) and the Air Temples, running from bounty hunters, fleeing from the Fire Prince, and even defending the North Pole from attack. They spoke about the entry of a new member into their group, an earthbender named Toph, and their struggle through the desert, and the following trip to the Serpent's Pass and defending the Earth Kingdom capital from Fire Nation attack. They talked about the conspiracy and takeover of Ba Sing Se, and how the fugitive Prince betrayed them once again, and then how they traveled around the Earth Kingdom again to find help from rebels, where they gathered allies for the invasion force. Kanna was listening intently as they recalled their journey through the Fire Nation and the day of the invasion, how they failed and invaded again, and their final defeat of the Generals and the Fire Lord. Kanna nearly fainted again. 

"You have been through struggles that no person has ever taken before. You all sound to me like the strongest people in the world," Kanna said, rubbing her temples. They definitely weren't just children anymore. They had done so much more, suffered through so many struggles in their young lives... "You have prevailed through all of your struggles, proving to the world that you are the heroes everyone says you are. I am so proud of the two of you," she finished, hugging them. "And your mother would be, too."

"Thank you, Gran-Gran," Katara said. During the course of the story, she used two of Kanna's blue beads to put her hair back in her old "hair loopies" style, and she looked exactly as she did over a year ago. It was now well into the night, and despite the large amount of traveling Sokka and Katara weren't tired. The same couldn't be said for Kanna.

"These old bones need some rest," she said, wearily pushing herself up and heading to her bed. "I would have brought you to the Palace myself, but..."

"That's okay, we'll do it ourselves," Katara said to her. "You get some rest. Good night, Gran-Gran."

"Night," Sokka added as he too got up to leave. Using the fire as their only source of light, the two siblings left the ice hut. "You know, it is good to be back," Sokka said, his hands in his pockets. The two were looking up at the moon, shining brightly, guiding their way to the great ice Palace. "But I'd choose being with everyone else over this any day."

"You just miss Suki," she said, smirking. On the way to the South Pole, they dropped off the Kyoshi Warrior on her native island. Just as Sokka was about to retort, Katara interrupted him. "That's okay, I miss Zuko too."

"What exactly do you see in him?"

"Well, he's brave, and smart, and he watches out for me..."

"Okay, okay, stop gushing! I don't need to hear anymore," he cut her off, waving his arms. She smiled, hugging her outer clothes close for warmth. In her arms she held her Fire Nation clothes. She would keep them safe in the Palace. They were the only things she had to remind her of Zuko. Here she was, already missing him when they were only there for a day. She still had a month to go until she could be in his arms again.

As she was lost in thought, she didn't notice when Sokka held his arm out for her to stop walking, and she ran into it. He held a finger up to his mouth for her to be quiet. She nodded. Now that she was paying attention, she saw shadows of people moving all around them, and some feet crunching against the frosty ground. Sokka quickened his pace through the lower circle, but Katara wasn't afraid. She was completely surrounded by water, and she was known as the greatest waterbender in the world, Shuang, Pakku, and Aang following shortly after her.

"During the festival..." She froze upon hearing the raspy whisper, and strained to listen. Sokka stopped to look at her oddly.

"Wha—?"

"Shh!" she shushed him, and pulled him by the hand down one of the side alleys. She saw shadows moving around the corner across the canal, and with a small wave of her hand she created an ice bridge, pulling Sokka over with her. She followed the shadows down the winding icy streets, until she realized that she must have been running right into a trap. She stopped short, causing Sokka to slide right passed her and into the water. The second he splashed, all of the mounting tension and shadows seemed to be gone, and the moon was brighter. Sighing, she pushed Sokka out of the water with a flick of her hand.

"What was that for?" he whispered, enraged.

"I thought I heard something, but it's gone now. Someone's going to do something during the festival tomorrow," she responded, pulling the water from Sokka's body before he would freeze to death.

"And you couldn't have found out more, could you?"

"Oh, shut up. Let's go, we'll just have to keep a lookout tomorrow," she said, walking off in the direction of the highest circle, the location of the Palace. She was deeply disconcerted about the problems that might arise the next day, because she didn't think things like that would happen to her Water Tribe, her home. She thought the place was secure and safe. She struggled to push the thoughts to the back of her mind as she and Sokka walked through the gates to the Palace area of the city. There was a long staircase that led all around the circle, gradually rising up and opening again right in front of the Palace. Directly beneath them was where they entered from.

Katara gasped upon laying her eyes on the Palace of ice, a large, beautifully shining fantasy. It seemed like it came right out of a fairy tale. It was a little smaller than the one in the Northern Water Tribe, but Katara thought it was much more magnificent. Large columns of ice paved the path up to the entrance, all having animals found in the Poles carved into them. Water Tribe warriors, both wielding spears, stood as sentries on both sides of the door-less Palace. Nodding to them, Katara and Sokka stepped inside.

Katara's eyes brightened when she saw the entrance hall, a beautiful icy room with a large, ornately carved door straight ahead of them. From experience in other Palaces, she guessed it led to the council chamber or a throne room of some sort. To the right and left were two hallways, and two more guards. On the section of wall between the two halls and the great door were two waterfalls, leading deep underground, creating a rhythmic beauty for the room. She was about to ask the guards where their bedrooms were when she suddenly felt some kind of powerful, otherworldly energy, which seemed to be gushing from this room, from below them... And when Sokka did nothing, she knew he felt it too.

Ever since they all went to the Nei Zhan Fields to get to the Phantom World over a year ago, each person there felt some kind of connection to the Spirit World. Even though Katara and the others didn't actually go in, the giant ball of energy gave them the sensory abilities when it exploded. Ever since then, they figured out they could all sense some spirits nearby, or something odd going on. In this case, the amount of power she felt meant only one thing—this was an entrance to the Spirit World. She looked into her brother's eyes, and they both said the same thing to each other. _We'll check it out tomorrow._

"Your bedrooms are down this hall," the guard on the right side, gesturing down the hallway. "Master Sokka, yours is the last room on the right, while Master Katara's is the last one on the left," he informed them, and the two nodded in thanks, already liking the titles.

When she entered her bedroom, Katara knew with one look that this month would be spent like royalty.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Okay, Chapter 1. Tell me what you think, everyone :) This one was fun to write. Next chapter will be out soon, and we'll switch to Zuko and the others back in the Fire Nation. I hope you liked this chapter.**


	2. Flames of the Phoenix

**Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews, everyone. I'm glad you all liked the first chapter.**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 2: Flames of the Phoenix_

It had been half a month. He could do this. He'd be able to last another two weeks. Without her, his job was so much harder and more stressful. There was still so much that needed to be done in such a short time, and she helped him much more than she thought. Just the thought of her cerulean eyes were able to get him through his day.

Prince Zuko was currently sitting in the middle of the old, repaired War room, which was now used for meetings. At the moment, they were trying to decide on where to make a major port city for travel between the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom. Sozin City was already a major port, but they needed one on the south side of the continent somewhere. Also, a legion of earthbenders needed to go through the Haiki Cliffs and fix it up for travel. King Kuei's representative, Joo Dee, already dealt with that, volunteering some of the King's Terra Team to come sometime soon.

"Wait a minute, I forgot where the port in the Earth Kingdom was," Aang said. The thirteen year-old Avatar chose to stay in the Fire Nation and help, having no family to return home to. He was head of the economical administration, and thus a great help in restoring the Fire Nation to its former glory. He was responsible for the rebuilding of Old Azulon and the numerous poor villages and raising money for the Fire Nation. He was currently garbed in white robes, all four Nations' insignias on his back, displaying his status as the Avatar.

"The western city of Funauta, on the south side of the Earth Kingdom, and Kyoshi Island, one of our southern islands. Kyoshi Island is also used as the ferry route with the Southern Water Tribe," Joo Dee informed, tilting her head and smiling.

"I volunteer my home village to become the port city," General Jee said. He promoted one of his closest friends to General, as well as Kei, Azula, and Jet. Jet was not officially Fire Nation, but he was a major help in the battles they had all went through. Kei was formerly a Fire Nation soldier, but Zuko promoted him for the same reason. Azula was the very first female General, and she bore the title proudly. Not only that, but she was head of the loyal Blaze Brigade.

"Is that wise? How would they react to such a change?" one of the Fire Sages asked, leaning his chin on his crossed long fingers. As another act as Fire Lord, Zuko remodeled the Fire Sages back to the way they were before Sozin's time—advisors to the Fire Lord. Shyu was there, and also his own Uncle Iroh, their leader.

"My people have always wanted our village to be bigger and flourishing with trade. Only a port city would bring that to them," Jee responded.

"Thank you, General," Zuko said to him, who nodded.

"Then we will no longer discuss the matter," Fire Sage Iroh said, stretching. "These chairs are uncomfortable, and I want some tea." Zuko smiled. No matter how much the Fire Nation changed, his Uncle Iroh would always remain the same.

"You are all dismissed," Zuko said with a wave of his arm. All of the Fire Sages, with the exception of Iroh, walked out, along with Joo Dee and Jee. Issui, representative of the kappas, hobbled after them.

"Good-bye, Avatar Aang!" Joo Dee called back, waving and smiling. Aang, obviously disturbed, waved back. As soon as they were all gone, Zuko sighed and put his head in his hands.

"It's okay Zuko, just a couple more years of this and things will get easier," Aang reassured him unsuccessfully.

"There's still just so much to do," Zuko moaned.

"You have already done a lot for your Nation already. You are a good leader in these times for healing," Iroh said, putting a hand on Zuko's shoulder. Zuko thought for a minute, mentally going over everything he had done to help the Fire Nation. He reinstated the order of Fire Sages, appointed new Generals, planted cucumber fields for the kappas, started repairs to the Palace, repaired Sozin City and Old Azulon, gave land back to their former owners, opened trade routes with the other Nations, and signed peace treaties. Industry and agriculture were flourishing. Teo was always inventing helpful things for everybody. His friends were always by his side, except for this one, long month apart.

Ursa stayed with him for a large portion of time, until deciding on going back to Jihen, the city of her people. Since she had lived there for so long and was respected by all, she was engaged to be married to their current leader, Master Qi Yi, former leader of the rebellion.

Of course, the Fire Nation was not allowed to hold a formal army for attacking any other Nations. It was now used only for defense, and usually they were dispatched to protect a small village. Azula's Blaze Brigade was used as a police force in Sozin City, where increased crime rates were disturbing the general public.

For the Fire Nation, it was a time of rebirth, where their flames were born anew, pure and warm, restoring balance to the world.

* * *

Aang sat at the top of the Palace, staff in hand and Momo on his shoulder. He was staring off into the night, down at the city and into the stars. For the most part, the city didn't change at all, but the Temple where Fire Lord Ozai was defeated was completely rebuilt for the new order of Fire Sages. Aang ran the silky white cloth of his robes through his fingers, admiring the skill in which this was weaved. If one looked closely, they would see tightly woven strands of blue, green, red, and silver all sewn together throughout the fabric. It was layered near the top in Fire Nation style, but the hem and sleeves were slightly loose in airbender style for aid in limited flight, as well as nearly-invincible thread for sturdy Earth Kingdom style. When he would visit a cold area, he would don a thick white cloak he owned, also stitched with the emblems of all four Nations. Besides his clothing, Aang had changed a lot. He was becoming tall and gangly, his dark hair straight and getting longer. If one knew him well enough, they would be able to tell his voice was getting slightly deeper.

Aang sighed and pet his lemur, which purred with the attention. "Momo... I really miss her. It's great having her around. For some reason, I feel something empty inside of me whenever she is far away... Toph... I'll be waiting for when you come back."

Twirling his staff, he stood up and glided back down to the city.

* * *

The next morning, Aang, Zuko, Jet, Azula, and Kei got up early as they usually did for quick sparring and training. Jet and Kei were fighting off to the side, their swords clashing against each other with amazing speed. As Azula meditated, Aang and Zuko fought.

The Avatar ducked under the Fire Lord's blast of golden fire, as he returned the attack with an arc of wind from his fingertips. Aang spun in place, the robes fanning out around him, as he disappeared and reappeared behind Zuko, pushing him off his feet with a tremor of the ground. Zuko rolled and jumped up quickly, his arms making a circle. He pulled them away from each other, as a powerful blast of flame erupted from his hands and mouth. Aang punched right in the middle of the blast, dissipating it and throwing it to both sides. Before he could do anything else, Zuko was on top of him, pummeling the Avatar with his flaming fists. Aang dodged as fast as he could, but Zuko descended into a sweeping kick that knocked Aang off of his feet. A sword of fire appeared in his hand, and he held it up to Aang's neck, declaring his victory.

Aang glanced behind Zuko, and the Lord turned his head to see what he was looking at. Right behind him, pointing at the back of his neck, was a rock spike jutting from the ground. It was a tie.

"I'm still ahead of you by four fights," Aang said proudly, grinning.

"Yes, but there are thirty-six ties," Zuko replied, the flame sword disappearing. He held out his hand to the Avatar, who gratefully accepted it and pulled himself up. Zuko sighed inwardly. Though both he and the Avatar were excellent firebenders, Iroh and Azula and maybe even a few others were better. On top of all of his stress of being the Fire Lord, Zuko had a constant urge to become stronger. Azula winked open one eye and clapped her hands.

"Excellent job," she said. At that moment, Jet disarmed Kei, the former only having one sword in his hand. "But you can both do better."

"We're not about to kill each other, Azula," Aang informed her, his eyebrow raised.

"A good firebender controls her actions," she said, smirking. At that moment, she punched out at the air in front of her, straight in Aang's direction. A bolt of blue flame shot from her knuckles, stopping inches in front of the Avatar's face. He gulped.

"Azula, leave them alone!" Ty Lee scolded her, flipping onto the scene. Mai drearily followed behind her, looking much more depressed than usual with the absence of Nodoka. Neither of the two changed much in the year after the war, except that Ty Lee seemed a little more responsible. But at times, Zuko had even stumbled in on her crying.

"I'm just having a little fun," she said, putting her hands up in innocence.

"Hmph," Zuko grunted. "Jet, let's spar."

"Gladly," he responded, and the two immediately fell into a flurry of swords, both knowing each other's moves well, nearly imitating them perfectly.

"Hey, Azula?" Aang asked, his eyes transfixed on the blue fire floating in front of him.

"What?"

"Can I try... to get control over this?" he asked.

"Go ahead," she responded, waving her arm dismissively. He nodded, holding out his hands, his feet spreading apart into a small stance. He grabbed hold of the warmth, his energy, his fourth type of bending... and the power came to him easily. Azula put up no struggle for it. But as soon as it belonged only to him, the blue fire flickered into red. Annoyed, he dissipated the flame.

"Excuse me, Fire Lord Zuko," a robed man said, one of Zuko's associates, bowing to him reverently. He held out a tightly-packed scroll.

"What is this?" Zuko asked, taking the scroll from the man's hands and inspecting it.

"Intelligence reports of a rebel group somewhere in the Fire Nation that is against your rule," the man replied, and added quickly, "sir."

Zuko sighed. "What else is new? I'll take a look at it later," he said, and pocketed it. The messenger was dismissed.

"What's that about?" Mai asked, staring at him with a cocked eyebrow.

"There've been people all over that are against my rule," he said wearily.

"It's like they want to start the war all over again!" Aang said.

"They're people that are like the old me," Azula said, putting her hands on her hips. "They just want trouble. I'd say we give it to them, but Zuzu is trying to avoid that idea..."

"That will only cause more trouble," Kei said, shaking his head. The former soldier was one of the few of their group brave enough to disagree with the girl, even now.

"We'll worry about it later," Zuko said, sighing. Jet grinned, unsheathing his hook swords again for a fight, but Zuko shook his head. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

"But it's the morning!" Ty Lee cried.

"Let him be," Aang said to them all as Zuko walked away. "He's under a lot of stress."

* * *

"Hmm... things have been getting really boring around here."

"How can you say that? We're always busy!"

"We should throw... a party or something."

"Hah, the Azula I used to know would never say that," Jet said, laughing. They were on the newest balcony of the Palace, facing the ruins of the Temple. Jet held her in his arms, and he sighed with satisfaction.

"Well, we've all changed. And I've been feeling like Mai lately. It's so boring without everyone here," Azula said, smirking.

"You mean I'm not fun enough for you?" Jet asked, feigning hurt.

"Yeah, I've been searching the market lately, and..."

"I'm sorry if I'm not good enough for you," he said, struggling to sound serious. But they were both smiling.

"You know I'm kidding," Azula said teasingly, and she kissed him. And then, abruptly, she got up and yawned. "Well, I better go."

"Why so early?"

"I've got places to go, people to see... You know, the usual," she said, starting out.

"What? Just like that?" he asked, sounding distinctly upset. "And who are you going to see?" Now he sounded slightly accusing.

"What are you implying?" she asked, stopping.

"Who are you going to meet? That's all I want to know," he said, standing up straight. "What's his name?"

"What is wrong with you? Just because I have somewhere to go... you think I'm going off with some guy?"

"Just answer the question! It's simple!"

"And now I'm only capable of answering simple questions?" she asked, insulted and angry.

"I never said that!"

"You implied it!" Now, both were turned at each other, their faces red and glaring. "You think you have to be in all of my business!"

"Fine! Whatever! Just leave!" he yelled, giving up and waving her off.

"For your information, Ty Lee, Mai, and I are just off to the Jasmine Dragon for some tea," she said coldly, leaving the room. He heard the door slam behind her.

"Whatever, I don't care," he muttered darkly, turning away. He looked out from the balcony again, just as the sun was setting into the night.

* * *

His black hair whipped his face, the same length as it was the year before. He did not care for long hair that was customary for a Fire Lord. They way it was at the moment was fine for him. The longer hair of the Fire Lords got in the way while fighting. His stomach rose and fell with great swooping sensations as they glided through the air. He held on tightly to one of the dragon's ivory horns while he brushed his fingers along the impenetrable black scales. They were as dark as the night they flew through.

Zuko sighed. Things were quieter in the Palace without all of the Avatar's friends. Usually when he needed to escape it all, he and Katara rode through the sky on Bahamut, his dragon, but this time she was not here. He felt cold and alone, her usual absence between himself and the dragon's head was empty. As they flew, the moon's constant presence reminded him of her more and more.

The bare trees showed the beginning of the autumn season, skeletal in the shadows of the night. The few with leaves were yellow, brown, and red, a beautiful sight in the Fire Nation during the day. The airbenders celebrated the beginning of their season, for it meant better chances of having airbending children. For their small population, a time of great birth was a great thing, especially in a season of death.

His hand brushed the blade at his hip, and the cold metal felt nice in his grip. For his birthday, which recently passed during the summer, Katara had bought him two new broadswords, the hilts made of gold and inlaid with rubies. They were powerful blades, and though he was royalty, it was an expensive and treasured gift. On their birthdays, the group of tightly-knit friends always bought each other gifts, and since there were so many of them, the birthdays came frequently, and it was hard for some of them to acquire gold to purchase (or make, in some cases) all of the gifts. In fact, in just a few days it was Malu's birthday. He decided that he would get her a Fire Nation comb. Yes, that would have to do. Just a month after hers was Aang's. Zuko sighed again. Why did they have so many friends?

He shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking that. He considered himself very fortunate that they all forgave him for what he did over a year ago, grateful that they stood behind him all this time. He was glad he had all of these friends, and they were all glad, too. They were the epitome of unity between the Nations. The world looked up to them as saviors.

Despite the stresses of politics, he was more satisfied than he had ever been with his life.

* * *

The life of a Fire Sage was much better than it was a few years ago, under Ozai's rule. With Zuko as Fire Lord, the Sages were just as powerful as they were over a hundred years ago, when they could support both the Avatar and the Fire Lord. They once again took on their roles as the Lord's advisors, all sitting upon the raised platform that made the Fire Lord's throne as near-equals with him. Fire Sage Iroh, leader of the Sages, sat on Zuko's right hand side. Shyu was on his left.

The Throne Room was one of the first chambers rebuilt after the destruction of most of the Palace, made exactly as it was before. But there were three crucial differences—the sacred flames were _behind _the throne now, the Fire Sages were present, and normal townspeople were allowed inside, presenting some kind of problem in the city that needed to be fixed. A farmer was bowed low to Zuko and the Sages, until Zuko bade him to stand.

"Present your case," Zuko said, almost tiredly. His hair was put up formally. It was pulling at his scalp somewhat painfully.

"The kappas have been raiding my fields, my Lord," the farmer said, averting his eyes. "They're eatin' most of me crops."

This was how things were. The people presented normal, everyday problems for the Fire Lord to deal with. Working with his people was supposedly a sign of a good leader.

"Very well, I shall speak with Chief Issui about the problem," Zuko said, dismissing him with a wave of his hand. "Next."

The farmer walked out of the chamber, a significant bounce in his step that wasn't there before. As he passed through the curtains emblazoned with the Fire Nation emblem, another figure walked in. Ty Lee bowed elaborately before the throne.

"Hey Zuko!" she greeted happily, and Iroh chuckled. Zuko rolled his eyes.

"Yes? I'm kind of busy now."

"Me and Aang wanna know if you want to head to Ember Island later today," she said, standing up with a flourish. Zuko sighed.

"No."

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

"No."

"Pleease?" she begged.

"I said no."

"Can't you just take that stick outta your ass for once?" When Zuko glared at her, she winced, but quickly regained her composure. "I'll seeya later then!" she quipped, turning around abruptly and bouncing out of the room. The other Fire Sages sniggered.

Iroh craned his neck to look behind Zuko. "Do you really have a stick up your—?"

"No, Uncle!"

* * *

Zuko sat down on his bed, feeling oddly free and unrestricted wearing only his bedclothes. He sighed, and remembered once last thing he had to do. He glanced to the rolled up scroll on his nightstand, bearing the fire emblem. He really should've read it in the company of his Sages, but he was personally curious about it. Standing up, he took it from the polished table.

_Continuous uprisings in small villages... centered mainly in the southern Fire Nation... composed mainly of ex-soldiers... believed to have an unidentified leader... _Zuko crumbled it up. It was the same rebel trash as usual. They were always stirring up trouble, complicating most of his repair projects. There was even one failed assassination attempt on his life, but he was completely surrounded by all of his allies. Azula plucked the arrow from the air effortlessly. The assassin got away before they could take him in for questioning.

The young Fire Lord did not know what they could mean, especially since the numbers of the rebels seemed to be increasing... Why did people oppose him? Didn't they want an end to the hundred-year war? Now was a time for repairing the world, not destroying it.

What kind of people were they?

* * *

**Author's Notes: Sorry, this chapter was horrifically short but also tremendously hard for me to write. It took me over a week, but that may be because I was also extremely busy. That's over for now, though :)**

**Please review!**


	3. Reunion

**Author's Note: This chapter turned out much longer than I expected :)**

**Anonymous Review Responses:**

**nikki: Glad you liked that. So few people had me on author alert compared to story alert. Thanks for the review!**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 3: Reunion_

The waterbender saw the plume of smoke in the distance, black as death. It was something the people had come to associate as the location of a Fire Nation raid. With the end of the war, shouldn't those types of things be gone, a thing of the past? There was definitely something wrong.

Those thoughts were running through Shuang's mind as he picked his way through the northern Earth Kingdom's dense forests, straying from his original path. The Avatar Gang's month apart was coming to a close, and Shuang was on his way to the closest port city to the Fire Nation. Just two days before, his ship from the Northern Water Tribe docked at the northern-most port of the Earth Kingdom. He couldn't wait to get back to Sozin City, where he would see Jin again. The young sword master returned to her home in Ba Sing Se, visiting her old friends again and helping King Kuei where she could.

Shuang stopped abruptly as he jumped from a large boulder as he heard a rustle in the leaves around him. The trees weren't necessarily thick, but there were many, and it was hard for him to see anything around him. He crouched into a stance, getting ready to fight whatever came into view. It could have been whatever caused the column of smoke to rise in the distance. He wasn't proficient in bending the water in plants, but Katara taught him what she knew. His expertise was ice, anyway.

He tilted his head in confusion when he heard a slight sniffle, but the rustling in the leaves seemed to go on as whatever it was sounded like they were dragging their feet as they walked. His breath rose in front of his face in the chilly autumn air, biting at his lungs as he waited for the person or thing to show itself.

He almost cried out in relief when the person stepped into view, but something was wrong. It was a little girl, seeming totally oblivious to Shuang. She seemed to drag her feet through the leaves with a detached look on her face, which was tear-stained. Her whole body was covered in soot. With a gasp, Shuang realized she was probably a survivor of the raid on the village to the south. This little girl, probably a little younger than Aang and Toph, traveled more than a day's walk all by herself, in this condition?

Shuang ran over to her, sliding to a stop in front of her and falling to his knees. "What happened? Are you alright?" he asked frantically, staring into her dull, blank eyes. Upon closer inspection, the waterbender saw that this girl was filthy, with her hair in disarray and her clothing ripped. There was some dried blood on her. Both hands gripping her shoulders, he shook her slightly, fear in his eyes. She finally seemed to notice him as she looked into his sapphire eyes, and then she collapsed, falling into his arms.

* * *

"I can't wai-ait, today's the da-ay!" Aang and Ty Lee chanted, arm-in-arm as they danced around in circles. Zuko, Mai, Azula, and Kei couldn't help but smirk at the two, watching them make fools of themselves in front of most of Sozin City. The Fire Lord and his friends were all waiting at the docks, watching the horizon for the first signs of ships approaching. Today, the Avatar Gang would be reunited. And Zuko was almost tempted to sing along with the two as he thought about seeing Katara again.

"Hey you two, stop it before you make me dizzy," Teo said to them, laughing, as they circled around his wheelchair. Most of the citizens were staring at the heroic Avatar oddly as he behaved like a child. Some children ran out from the crowd to dance and sing with them. With Ty Lee conducting everyone, things began to get out of control, until Mai monotonously said that she spotted a ship on the horizon.

"Hmm... we can get a hint if we see what Nation it is," Jet said, covering his eyes from the sun as he squinted toward the ship.

"I'm guessing Jin," Azula said simply. They all turned to stare at her. "Well, it's an Earth Kingdom ship, so that's just a big hint right there. She probably passed right by Haru and Toph's villages, so they're probably there, too."

"There are more of us from the Earth Kingdom! What about Song?" Kei asked indignantly.

Azula sighed. "She probably went to Kyoshi, since that was closer, so she'd be coming with Suki, who'd be coming with Sokka and Katara. Come on, people. It's obvious."

Jet, hands on his hips, raised an eyebrow, thinking he could outsmart her. "What about Longshot and Smellerbee?"

"Don't you guys ever look at maps?" she asked them, sighing again. "Malu would come on her bison, having to go just a little bit out of her way to pick up Nodoka and Keioushi, and, just a little further, Longshot and Smellerbee. Seriously, you guys never stop to think, do you?"

"Clever," Aang commented, eyebrow raised. Everyone else stared at her blankly.

"What?" she snapped. Ty Lee shook her head, pointing at the approaching ship.

"Look! They're here!" Zuko watched, his hands clasped behind his back as he stood regally. As the ship approached, many of the citizens of the city cheered. The wooden ship, which looked remarkably similar to the ferries of Full Moon Bay, let down its anchor. The ramp descended, and Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, and Water Tribe people all stepped off of the ship. Ever since the end of the war, those without animosity towards the other Nations frequently vacationed to new places, either to see the hot springs, volcanoes, and jungles of the Fire Nation or the greatly diverse Earth Kingdom or the frozen tundra and beauty of the Northern Water Tribe. Since there were no ferry routes yet coming from the Northern Tribe, one had to travel to the Earth Kingdom and then to the Fire Nation.

Aang couldn't help himself. To stimulate things up even more, two great jets of water erupted on both sides of the ship, spraying water all around them like a fountain. He maintained them as Jin walked out, with Toph right behind her, being guided by Haru. All three were attempting to smile as the crowd watched them. Jin waved, her face red with embarrassment. The poor girl still wasn't accustomed to all of the attention.

The columns of water splashed down into the bay again as Aang jumped right up to Toph, unabashedly planting a kiss on her lips. Unfortunately for him, by this time the earthbender's feet reunited with stone, and she threw him up into the air with a pillar of stone. She was smirking with satisfaction as she walked up to her friends, alongside Jin and Haru. Aang was by her side again in an instant, and this time she consented to let him hold her hand. Greetings went all around, and when Zuko offered to lead them to the Palace, the three of them declined, opting to wait for the rest of their friends to arrive.

"How were your parents, Toph?" Aang asked her.

"Kind of suffocating. They wouldn't leave me alone at all. They didn't really want me to come back here, because they miss me too much," she said, shrugging. "I'm used to it, I guess."

"My parents were really shocked when they found out we were heroes," Haru said. "Proud, but shocked. We got into a small fight when I got home... they thought something happened to me when they didn't receive word from me for a year..."

"Er, Haru..." Jet started, "you could have sent them a letter. That's what messenger hawks are for."

Haru slapped his forehead.

Nothing else was said because Appa grunted loudly, soaring into the sky. The sky bison sounded oddly happy, and they didn't know why until they all looked to the east. Riding on the horizon was another sky bison. It signified the arrival of Malu and whoever else she had with her. Haru got over his previous embarrassment quickly as he cheered loudly and joyfully. The huge bison reached them quickly, landing on the ground with a tired grunt. Appa circled around Yanna playfully as Momo made lemur noises between the two of them. Malu jumped from her familiar's back, dispersing into air and solidifying in Haru's arms. Nodoka, Keioushi, Smellerbee, and Longshot all came from Yanna's back, running up to see their friends again.

"How's the fort goin'?" Jet asked his two friends casually, as Smellerbee crashed into him and put her arms around him. Longshot put a friendly hand on his shoulder, allowing a small smile on his face.

Nodoka and Mai walked up to each other at a normal pace, stopping when they were right in front of the other. "Hey," Mai said.

"Hey," he responded. Their lips twitched into smiles and the two held hands as they walked back to the rest of the Gang.

Meanwhile, Ty Lee was dramatically running up to Keioushi, as if she had been separated from her lover for years. "Oh, Keioushi!"

"Ty Lee!" he hollered, running to meet her. He picked her up and spun her around when they met, and she kissed him energetically on the mouth. He responded just as eagerly.

Zuko and Nodoka nodded to each other. The Fire Lord knew the silver-haired warrior as one of their dedicated, strong-willed, and fearless allies. His staunch and stoical attitude made him one of the first that Zuko genuinely respected and trusted.

Aang and Malu were talking animatedly, Toph and Haru at their sides. "So how's Yanna doing?" Aang asked the airbender.

"She's great, except that she gets mood swings, and she won't stop eating!"

"Well, that's what happens when you get pregnant," Aang said, patting the female bison on the head.

"Wait, she's pregnant?" Toph asked, surprised. "Wait a minute... Is Appa...?"

"Yes, Toph. And Appa's the papa," Aang said, laughing at his own words. Haru shook his head, sighing.

"Yeah, I can't wait. They're gonna be born soon... and I think there's at least five!" Malu said excitedly. "It would mark the first new bison being born since the end of the war."

"Well, that's definitely something to look forward to," Haru said encouragingly, and the girl hugged him tightly.

Almost an hour later, another wooden ship was spotted on the horizon, this one smaller, narrower, and hoisting blue sails. Zuko's heart leapt. This one had to be her. The young Fire Lord ran to the very edge of the dock as the ship neared. He could distantly see Katara on the deck of the ship, several other people next to her. He threw a jet of flame into the air to show her it was him, and as soon as she saw his beacon she leapt from the deck.

Zuko wished he could run on top of the water to meet her as she surfed toward him at high speeds. As she neared the dock, she jumped high into the air to land swiftly in front of him, in his arms, as the two were sprayed softly with seawater. He kissed her, her arms around him as he tasted the salt on her lips, just enjoying having her in his arms again, after all of this time spent apart...

She looked the same as she did when she left for the Southern Water Tribe, dressed just like a Fire Nation girl. He held her even as they pulled apart. "This month has been agony without you," he whispered to her. She rested her head against his chest, her arms around his torso.

"I've missed you, and there's so much I have to tell you," Katara breathed, squeezing him tightly.

"That can wait until later," he said. For now, the two just wanted to enjoy each other's presence as they sighed in satisfaction—there were no more words that needed to be said. He had his arms around her as they waited for the ship to approach, and as soon as it laid anchor next to the other one and the ramp was lowered, Sokka jauntily walked off of it.

"You could've waited just a few more minutes, you know. You impatient lovebirds. I, for one, find it disgusting."

"Oh, leave them alone, Sokka," Suki said, swatting him gently as she was right behind him. "Hey, Zuko," she said, looking to him and smiling. The Kyoshi warrior looked the same as ever. Right behind her was Song, looking oddly meek and shy. Kei, in his full soldier's uniform, walked over to the ramp and bowed like a knight. The healer giggled, falling down next to him and putting her arms around his shoulders. He looked up with a smile on his face, kissing her gently.

"Now we're all here!" Aang said happily, quickly counting their number. "Wait, except for..."

"Shuang," Jin said sadly.

"Don't worry Jin, he should be here soon," Suki said comfortingly to her friend. The Kyoshian walked over to Jin, starting a conversation with her as the two caught up.

* * *

The outer islands of the Fire Nation were slowly being put behind them as the ferry Shuang was currently riding on passed into the mainland. In just minutes, he'd be seeing his friends again, but most importantly Jin. He had important and bad news to relay to them all. His eyes glanced to the little girl he was now watching over, his hand lying comfortingly on her shoulder. She talked rarely, speaking only when spoken to. After finding her in the woods, he immediately had her cleaned up and taken care of. Once she regained consciousness, she adamantly refused to be separated from him. She clung tightly to his waist and started crying, and since then the two formed a sort of bond. Now he looked at her as a sort of younger sister. He knew little about her, but he did know that it was indeed her village that was utterly destroyed. Other than that, she said nothing else about her previous home. Whenever he looked into her eyes, they were always clouded by pain or numbness, and at times she seemed older than she really was. Whatever she witnessed, it would scar her for life. Shuang knew she must have lost her family.

But who would do something like that to such a small village?

After finding the lost girl, he did not return to the village at all. He brought her straight to medical attention. But, as much as he hated to think it, the only reasonable explanation to the destruction of her town was inevitably firebenders. What else could that plume of smoke come from? And here he was, bringing her directly into the capital of the Fire Nation itself.

Shuang cringed. That must have made it even worse for her. He kneeled down next to her.

"Don't worry, everything is going to be okay. I'll take care of you," he said reassuringly, and she turned to face him with a weak smile on her face as her unruly hair bobbed on her head. Nian, bless her; the poor girl was trying her hardest to conceal her feelings. She was stronger than she looked.

She looked down into the water. "All wounds will heal eventually. You just need the right cure and just a little bit of time," she said quietly. "An old lady in my village taught me that." And her eyes began tearing again.

"Don't cry," he said. "We'll be there in just a little bit, and you'll get to show just how strong you are. You will get to meet all of my friends. I'm sure you'll like them." He neglected to mention to her that he was one of the heroes. After all she went through, he did not want to overwhelm her, too.

The other passengers on board rushed to the sides of the ship as they neared the capital city. As the anchor dropped, Shuang was shivering with anticipation. In just two minutes, the pair was walking off of the ship, behind the rest of the passengers. As soon as Shuang saw Zuko, Aang, Jin, and everyone else, he smiled. Jin met his smile, and rushed up to him, throwing her arms around his neck.

"I'd like you to meet Jin," Shuang said to the little girl, and at that moment Jin just seemed to notice her. "Jin, this is—"

"Aang!" the girl shouted, her attention focused on the Avatar. Aang jumped down to meet her.

"_Meng_?" he asked, astonished. He bent down as if inspecting her, and by this time Sokka, Katara, and Toph came down to meet her.

"Hey, you're the girl we met in Aunt Wu's village! I miss that fortuneteller," Katara said, slumping. "How is she?"

"Whoa, what's she doing here?" Sokka asked, rubbing the top of her head.

"Wait, you know her?" Shuang asked them, shocked.

Before anyone could say anything else, Meng burst into tears again, falling to her knees. Immediately, Katara, Aang, Sokka, and Shuang rushed to her side, trying to comfort her.

"Guys, give her some space!" Toph boomed. Aang, Sokka, and Katara backed away quickly, while Shuang stayed where he was.

"What's going on? What happened to her?" Aang asked, concerned. Now the rest of their Gang came up to meet them, showing concern and worry over the young girl.

"I found her in a forest in the northern Earth Kingdom, as I was on my way to the port city to get here," Shuang explained, rubbing Meng's shoulders. "I... I'll tell you the rest later."

"Let's get her cleaned up," Zuko said. Shuang carried her as they solemnly walked to the Palace.

* * *

"I can't believe it," Jin said, a little after they got settled into the Palace. "What are the chances of them knowing her?"

"Pretty low, but they've traveled all over the world. They could have gone anywhere," Shuang replied.

"Well, we met her before coming to the Northern Water Tribe," Katara explained. All of them were located in one of the many of the Palace, a lavishly decorated room with red couches and gold-embroidered curtains. The young girl continued to sniffle and tear. "We saved her village from a volcanic eruption." Their conversation was unheard by Aang, Meng, and those gathered around the two, as the young Avatar and Sokka were talking to her as well.

"Meng, _please_, you have to tell me what happened. I know it might be hard, but we have to find out, so we can stop them..."

"Aang, let's leave her alone for now. She's not ready to say anything yet," Katara interrupted him. She turned and spoke to Meng softly, "You can tell us whenever you feel like it, okay?"

"No, I'm ready now," she said, steel-faced. She stood up from the couch, wiping her tears on her sleeve. They all listened with rapt attention. "My village... it was attacked," she whispered slowly and quietly, and they all had to lean in to hear. "It was a random raid, and we had done nothing... nothing at all to deserve it. I... I saw everyone die. My mom told me to go hide... I saw Aunt Wu, and my dad, and everyone... they're all gone. And one of the men... When he saw me, he smiled. It..."

"Meng, you don't have to say anymore," Katara said, shushing her gently. More tears fell from the young girl's face.

"Who were they? What Nation?" Sokka asked urgently. The whole room became tense; everyone and everything seemed to focus on this moment...

"Fire," Meng choked out. "One was a bender... the other had explosives," she trembled. "Another had arrows... and another had... chains... And each of them rode these huge, horned monsters." She choked again, and fell silent as tears streamed down her face.

Zuko's eyes widened. "The Rough Rhinos." Aang and Sokka nodded solemnly.

"Meng, I want you to get some rest now. You were very brave, I want you to know that. Thank you," Katara said comfortingly to her, like a mother to her daughter. Meng's eyes closed as she leaned back right onto the couch.

"It was Fate," she mumbled. "Fate wanted to take my village ever since the volcano eruption. There was never any hope." And then she was asleep.

* * *

"Meng seems a lot more mature since the last time I saw her," Katara said, obviously distracted. The raid on her village put a damper on their spirits, and instead of staying up through the night to party, they all wanted the solace of sleep. It also stopped Zuko and Katara from talking about happier things. Zuko admittedly wasn't as bothered with the arrival of the girl; he was just angry about the Rough Rhinos.

At the end of the war, Zuko had all of his soldiers withdrawn from the Earth Kingdom. Some, like Colonel Mongke, leader of the Rough Rhinos, did not care for the change of rulers. After ignoring his summons, Zuko thought that Mongke just wanted to leave the Army. Instead, Mongke and his Rough Rhinos seemed to have turned into a rogue band of criminals. They alone could put hatred of the Fire Nation back into the minds of the Earth Kingdom people.

"That's what the loss of loved ones can do to you," Zuko said quietly.

"Those last words she said... About having no hope... she's wrong," Katara said. "There's always hope. We should know that." Meng's last chilling words to them clearly shook the waterbender. "Giving up on hope is the worst thing she could do..."

Zuko suddenly looked up. "We have to stop them, somehow. They can cause a lot of trouble if left to roam the Earth Kingdom alone."

"You think we should do it ourselves?" Katara asked, looking to him with her brow furrowed.

"No, but I'm not going to send a whole army after them. I am not going to let Kuei deal with this. They are my Nation, and my responsibility."

"So what should we do? I think waiting would be best, for now," she advised him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"It is all we may hope to do, at the moment. Things are getting out of control," he said, putting his head in his hands. Katara gripped his shoulder reassuringly.

"Things will be okay. And you will be able to handle it, I know you will," she said, smiling. "It's what I like about you. You're persistent." He looked up at her again, smiling back. "Well, I'm going to bed, it's getting late. You should, too."

She put her hand on the side of his head, the scarred side, and kissed him lightly. "Good night," he responded. She stretched and yawned, leaving his bedchamber.

But Zuko didn't go to sleep. He had much to think about.

* * *

"How come things never work for us?" Aang asked Toph. The young couple walked in the Palace courtyard, the sun glowing brightly in the sky. Aang had his hand on the weathered old tree by the pond, his eyes closed as he felt the life inside of it. It was connected to the pond, the other plants, the animals, trees, and the sky and the sun itself. Aang often found himself doing this—"conversing" with the plants, seeing their perspective of the world.

"What do you mean?" the earthbender asked.

"Why do people need conflict? We are trying to make peace for them, but they keep trying to bring back all of the fighting," he said, speaking with a note of serenity in his voice.

"There are lots of reasons, if you think about it," she answered. He glanced questioningly at her, but she kept going on. "War means profit for most people. But then some people just _like_ fighting. I know I do."

Aang turned to look at her fully. "We've got to figure out a way to stop this. Call everyone together. We all have to talk."

* * *

"What did you want to talk to us about, Aang?" Fire Sage Iroh asked, yawning. "I was enjoying a nice nap." Everyone was assembled in the throne room, including the Fire Sages, the Generals, the Avatar Gang, and even Meng and Teo. The young girl quietly sat next to Shuang and Aang, looking meek and nervous.

"As we all know, there've been problems going on in the Fire Nation and now in the Earth Kingdom," Aang said, his voice sounding powerful and certain. "We're the only people who know enough and are strong enough to stop it."

"It's not just the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation in trouble," Malu spoke out, "Things have been tough in Akikaze, too."

"What do you mean?" Zuko asked her, surprised. Such a small Nation, and they were already having problems?

"While I was there, I found out that there have been people raiding the village. I think they're Sozin-Ozai extremists," she responded. "They've been holding them back, but that won't last for long."

"My tribe has had unrest. Every day, houses are crushed and people are getting restless," Shuang said suddenly. "They want to fight. They think the Fire Nation is behind it."

"We've done no such thing!" one of the older Fire Sages shouted, angry.

"I am not blaming anybody," Shuang said calmly, shaking his head. "But if we're checking on other things, it wouldn't hurt to send someone there."

"That reminds me," Katara said, trying to remember something. "On my first day back in the Southern Water Tribe there were people talking and planning something. From what me and Sokka heard, they wanted to do something during the festival, which was the day after that. We investigated, but nothing at all happened."

"Don't forget the rebels in the Fire Nation," Azula reminded them. Everyone was silent, pondering their words.

On the outside, Zuko looked calm, thinking just as the others were. But on the inside, he was angry and afraid. Everything they had built for was crumbling all around him, falling to his feet. The world was slowly but surely going into conflict again, and he would be known as the worst, weakest Fire Lord. Everything was going wrong.

He looked up when he noticed everyone staring at him. Clearing his throat, he made a decision. "Like Aang said, we'll have to deal with all of these problems ourselves. We'll have to split up and go our separate ways, if only for a little while."

"What? But we just got back together!" Jin exclaimed.

"We've only had a day to rest!"

"Yay! Traveling!"

"I haven't decided who is going where yet," Zuko said, his voice loud enough to quiet them all. "But Iroh, as leader of the Sages, will act as Fire Lord while I am away."

"Is that wise, Lord Zuko?" Shyu asked, turning to him. "You have a lot of enemies. It wouldn't be safe to travel as a commoner."

"I will be fine," Zuko assured him. "I am going to go into the Earth Kingdom group." Several of the Sages glanced at him as he said this.

"I will too," Katara said, her bottom lip protruding in determination.

"I hate to say it, but I guess I'll go," Toph said.

"That means I'm also coming along," Aang said with a smile pointed at Toph.

"I want to go back to the Earth Kingdom again," Azula said, shrugging. "It was something different." Katara glanced at Jet, who was silent.

"Jet, you should come with us," she said to him, smiling encouragingly.

"I guess," he responded coolly, shrugging.

"We also need some people for the Fire Nation, the Air Theocracy, and the Water Tribes..."

* * *

In the end, they all decided on groups that made everybody happy. Meng refused to be left behind, so she was put into the Earth Kingdom party with Aang, Zuko, Katara, Toph, Jet, and Azula. They would fly on Appa. Zuko was reluctant to leave Bahamut behind, but the dragon was being lazy at the moment and wasn't up to long trips anyway. Appa grunted in disapproval at him.

Surprisingly, Teo wanted to leave Sozin City and go adventuring with them. He settled on being with Nodoka, Mai, Ty Lee, and Keioushi, who were checking out for signs of trouble in the Fire Nation, and getting to the source of it all. They would walk on foot, since they would cross no seas and the Fire Nation wasn't even that large, compared to the Earth Kingdom.

At first, Malu was unsure of which group to join. She was conflicted between going to Akikaze or the Water Tribes, a completely new place for her that she was just itching to see. In the end, Haru's choice to go to the Water Tribes with Sokka, Suki, Shuang, and Jin won her over. Since they needed to check on both the Northern and Southern Water Tribes, it was best for them to take Yanna and fly around the globe.

And finally, the group that chose to protect the Air Theocracy was Kei, Song, Longshot, Smellerbee, and a group of Fire Nation soldiers. They were to take a ship from Sozin City, sailing all the way to Funauta, the westernmost port of the Earth Kingdom. From there, they would walk on foot.

It would be a tough journey, but they were all determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. Once again, the world was counting on them. Failing again wasn't an option. If they did, the whole world would be plunged into war once again.

* * *

All his life, Long Feng was a master of being discrete and precise. Ever since the end of the war, the crafty earthbender had gathered followers, starting with his loyal Dai Li agents. From there, he struck up a partnership with a powerful source, who also had their own small army. None but them knew about their secret agreement. Both wanted positions of power. Both wanted followers. Both wanted revenge.

For almost a year, Long Feng and his secret society had been growing, recruiting members who were still against Ozai and his bloodline, those who still hated the Fire Nation. From there, he had instilled hatred of the other Nations into them.

The former Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se looked up from his stupor, lost in thought over the situation. A messenger hawk was pecking against the window. Long Feng stood up and walked over to it, inviting the bird onto his arm. Such useful creatures... Though they were not Earth Kingdom, they proved themselves crucial to his master plan. Unfurling the scroll from the hawk's back, Long Feng read it.

_I am ready from the Southern Tribe. You know who this is, right? _Long Feng threw the paper into the roaring fire. "Stupid boy," he muttered. Of course he knew. He mentally went over the other letters he had received recently.

_I am ready from the Northern Tribe._

_Ready; the Desert of the Dead._

_I'm ready for the plan. _Secrecy was important. Under his strictest orders Long Feng told them to be safe with the letters in case they were intercepted. Walking back to his tiny desk, he hastily wrote a letter himself.

_Initiate the plan, _he wrote. The messenger hawk obediently accepted the message, flying off to the west. The robed man earthbended the wall open, exiting the room. He walked down a short, plain stone hallway, stopping once he reached two large wooden doors. Their headquarters were underground, built by earthbenders and away from prying eyes. They were a series of intertwining tunnels, all leading to the center of the complex. It was called the Dome.

Long Feng pushed open the heavy wooden doors. As soon as he was seen, he was greeted by loud cheers. The chamber was dome-shaped, hence the name. The leader of the rebels was looking down at them all from atop a metal platform. Each and every one of them was congregated there. Long Feng smirked down at them all.

"There are plans being set into motion today that will dictate the fate of the entire world," he spoke coldly. They all became silent. "The end of the One Hundred Year War is simply impossible. After all of this time... the Fire Nation suddenly seeks to end it? Perhaps they think of a peace treaty as a tool to put the enemy's guard down? They have burned our lands and killed our families! It is foolish of them to seek forgiveness. We will fight back before they can destroy us. With the aid of the Earth King, we will strike against the Water Tribes, those who have selfishly defended only themselves instead of offering support. We will crush the weak Air Nomads, the cowards that sought only to flee from the world and wait for us all to perish. The noble Earth Kingdom will be the true winners of this war, the last ones standing to restore the world to its former glory. First, the leader-less Omashu will be taken by us, where we will set the stage for this new war, for the destruction of the other Nations!" The former Grand Secretariat paused a moment, letting them cheer and scream and stamp their feet. "Omashu will fall!"

Long Feng would need all of his deceptiveness and cunning for his master plan to work. And at this rate, things were going greater than he had expected. With his people behind him, they would accomplish anything.

They were the Arcanum.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

**In case you guys couldn't tell by my descriptions, Zuko, Katara, and Sokka are all wearing what they do in the show, season 3. Aang wears those white robes from Chapter 2 most of the time, and Toph, well, I liked her much better in her normal clothes from season 2. Everyone else wears pretty much what they have been wearing.**

**Hey, I've got a challenge for you guys :) I've been wondering... if there's anybody that can draw... Do you guys want to draw a scene, character, or a place from one of the two stories? I'm curious about your mental pictures for my OCs, and it would be fun to see a drawing of Ozai bending white fire :D A Piza, Nodoka, Keioushi, Shuang, Kei, or Yasha drawing would be awesome. Anything. It would make me extremely happy beyond words to see some fanart:D If you need a recap of what they look like just ask me.**

**Please review!**


	4. The Assassin

**Author's Notes: Sorry these updates have been taking so long. It's just been really hard to write for some reason. But mark my words; I will never give up on this story. I will stick with you guys until the **_**third **_**story is finished!**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 4: The Assassin_

Nodoka, Mai, Ty Lee, Keioushi, and Teo left the Palace from one of the secret passages under the cover of night. There was an underground river beneath the Palace that only the royal family knew about. The river started somewhere in the mountains, running right through the Palace grounds. By using some tunnels built at the same time the Palace was, one could get from the river to the main hallway. It was hidden beneath a bust of a previous Fire Lord.

The five were using the secret passage to leave the Palace without the general public knowing. They did not want the rebels to know that they were all leaving the Palace. Everything was to be done with the utmost secrecy. Nodoka's group was heading to the south, near Old Azulon and the other southern villages.

The silver-haired warrior was the first to climb out from the underground tunnel, emerging off to the side of the Palace. The moon shone brightly overhead. Behind him, Ty Lee jumped out effortlessly, turning to see if the others made it out. Keioushi emerged with Teo on his broad shoulder, the young boy blushing with embarrassment. He laid him down on the ground, and then lifted his wheelchair from the hole. Mai emerged shortly after.

Nodoka stood waiting, his face cold and impassive. He looked at the disabled boy as a burden, and his coming along would only endanger and slow down the rest of them. He nearly begged to come, and he said he'd try to be useful in any way possible. He promised not to get in their way. Nodoka trusted him grudgingly. He had proved useful in the past, his brilliant mind always conjuring ideas and inventions. At the very least, he could prove to be a strategist.

As they walked normally away from the Palace, Nodoka grew increasingly annoyed at Zuko. By placing him in this group, he knew that the firebender's intentions were to use him as this group's leader. Nodoka knew he did not have any leadership qualities, preferring to be the quiet, observant one in the back, ready to offer support if need be. But now, he was in charge.

Unfortunately, the warrior also knew that he was marginally a better choice than the rest in his group. Mai was too uncaring, the most unwilling to travel as the rest of them. She was not one to complain, but it was easy to tell that she did not want to go off into the fighting again so soon. She was a follower, not a leader.

Ty Lee was an even worse choice. Her mind wandered way too much to stay focused on keeping them all together, planning out their decisions, and eradicating problems. She preferred to just run in blindly in a situation. The outgoing girl was not reliable enough to look up to in a tense situation. Lately, she tended to be afraid of many trivial things.

Keioushi wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, for many reasons. He was headstrong and shared many of the same traits as Ty Lee. He put brawn before brain, but he wasn't dumb. He looked more to others to solve difficult problems that couldn't be solved with his fists. He was also much too loud in situations when they needed to be quiet.

Teo, on the other hand, was smart, but not a leader. He was too inexperienced for battle, to be near the enemy. He was sociable and friendly, but he didn't know his comrades well enough to map out their strengths and weaknesses. One could not formulate a plan without those crucial statistics.

But why make him the leader?

He looked to his left. Ty Lee was glaring at him. "What?"

"Your aura is purple!"

He knew she had the unique ability to read auras, but that meant nothing to him. He kept on walking.

"It means that you're thinking of yourself as higher than us at the moment!" she yelled, running after him and the rest of them to avoid being left behind. Thinking himself as higher than them? He did not even realize he was doing that.

"Shut up," Mai shushed her, crouching low and moving ahead. Nodoka, Keioushi, Ty Lee, and Teo followed after her. She ran straight for the outer walls of the Palace grounds, which had forest on the other side. The edged against the thick walls, listening.

"So... what're we doing again?" Keioushi asked. Mai was about to snap at him when part of the wall exploded, a few yards away from them. Nodoka barely realized that his spear was in his hands—he did not remember taking it off of his back. His other three comrades were ready behind him as he went after the source of the explosion. Surprisingly, Teo followed after them, with some sort of bow as a weapon.

Nobody asked what it was because a shadowy blur shout out from the dust. Mai threw her knives at it but surprisingly missed. The spearman ran towards the assassin with his spear outstretched and to the side. Ty Lee easily beat him to the person, greatly outrunning him as she dropkicked him to the ground. The black-clad trespasser was up in a second, but this time he turned to fight them. He had two thin blades held out, sharp and deadly. Nodoka reached him, slashing with his weapon, but it was blocked by the crossed blades. Ty Lee rushed him, ducking under his swipes and sending out punches that hit only air. This man was very skilled and very fast.

She ducked low again, sweeping out with her foot, but as the assassin tried kicking at her she kicked off of the ground and back flipped out of the way. At this moment Keioushi caught up to them and the red and silver-haired warriors assaulted the ninja, spear and spiked knuckles swinging. The two of them held his weapons at bay, leaving an opening at his chest. Mai flicked two darts, but the ninja jumped back just in time, Nodoka and Keioushi's weapons clashing against the ground.

Ty Lee jumped at him again, her feet ready to hit him in the face. He crossed his thin blades in front of him, intercepting the attack. For a moment she was horribly reminded of the fight with her father as the ninja pushed her up. She sailed through the air for a moment before landing swiftly on her feet. Three flashes of silver glinted in the air as Mai's knives grazed the assassin as he was unable to dodge fully. He made no movement to suggest he was in pain, but Nodoka was able to see the tear in his black clothes and the blood spreading on his arm.

"What are you here for?" Nodoka demanded of him, his face stern. The assassin didn't answer, and none were able to see his facial expression, as it was covered by a veil of darkness. Keioushi rushed at him again, his arm held behind him, poised for a punch. The spiked, metal knuckle came at the assassin quickly, who threw up his sword to parry, unhindered by his wounds. The Earth Kingdom martial artist unleashed a barrage of punches, his hands a blur, as each clash of metal on metal rang out through the night.

It ended as the ninja jumped back, panting. He was unmarked, but definitely seemed worse for wear. He seemed to realize that he couldn't win, dashing off toward the Palace, intent on his mission. Nodoka couldn't allow that. Allowing a quick glance to the sky, he saw two white bison flying off, the passengers on their backs ready to do their part for the world. He smirked. If the assassin was after Zuko or Aang, he was out of luck.

Mai was the first to run after the ninja, her arm moving in a blur as she hurled shuriken, knives, darts, and arrows at the fleeing man. His sword was held behind him to miraculously deflect or dodge most of the projectiles. He seemed to be getting away, besting four other experienced warriors...

Until Ty Lee seemed to appear out of nowhere, her teeth grit in determination as she swept out with her foot, causing the assassin to stumble. He rolled twice, rubbing his head as he landed on his bottom. He stood up sluggishly, just as Keioushi pounced on him again; grabbing him by the shirt and hurling him back to where Nodoka and Mai were. The assassin looked up at them all from the ground, his eyes dashing back and forth, trying to find some means of escape.

"Why are you here?" Nodoka repeated his question. Once again, the assassin stayed silent. Ty Lee, growing impatient, ripped the veil from his face, unmasking him. Nodoka raised an eyebrow. The assassin was a woman.

"I can't believe you imbeciles beat me," she spat. Her pale skin and short black hair suggested that she was Fire Nation.

"Who were you after?" Nodoka asked, ignoring her comment.

"Fire Lord Zuko. And the Avatar," she responded gruffly.

"Who hired you?" Mai asked impassively.

"Why would I tell you?" she retorted, but Keioushi bent her arm at a painful angle. She grunted in pain. "I... couldn't tell. It was a man from the Outer Islands...!"

"What was his name?" Nodoka pressed.

She grit her teeth as Keioushi bent her arm back further, threatening to break it. "I don't know, but he had... a symbol... on his head."

"What?" Ty Lee asked, clearly confused. Keioushi let her relax for a moment, but this proved to be a mistake. The assassin kicked up, twisting in midair and kicking out her feet. Those closest to her fell to their knees, as the assassin back flipped with one hand. She then balanced herself on her feet, pulled something out of the folds of her clothing, and threw it at them. Nodoka pushed Mai and Keioushi away as he saw the assassin running. Ty Lee jumped back instinctively, and the spot they were just standing in exploded.

As Nodoka regained his bearings and the dust cleared, he was ready to rush after the assassin again, but an arrow whizzed through the air with amazing speed, hitting her right in the leg. She fell to one knee, just as another struck her in the back. Nodoka tilted his head to look at the source these arrows were coming from, and he was totally surprised to see Teo, sitting on his wheelchair with the odd bow held out, his arms shaking and his eyes wide. An arrow was loaded in the holster, which held a horizontally placed bow on it. The bowstring was short and drawn taut, but Teo's fingers weren't even holding it in place. There seemed to be a trigger on the bottom of the holster... What was that weapon?

Ty Lee and Mai ran towards the assassin, as Teo looked on, frozen and in fear. Nodoka went to examine the assassin. "She's not dead," he informed them. Teo visibly relaxed, his arm resting with the odd weapon on his lap.

"What the heck is that?" Ty Lee asked, pointing at the weird bow.

"It's a c-crossbow. I m-made it myself," he said shakily.

"What're we gonna do with her?" Mai asked Nodoka, looking at the assassin. Why did she expect him to know? He was just about to answer when three members of the Blaze Brigade rushed onto the scene.

"What's going on here?" one of them asked gruffly, as the others went to look at the assassin.

"An assassination attempt on Zuko," Mai answered. "We caught her."

"And those explosions?" a woman asked.

"All her," Keioushi responded, glancing at the assassin. Each of them began to tie her up, carefully avoiding her arrow wounds and dragging her away. The assassin was silent except for her soft moans of pain. Nodoka, on the other hand, was focused on Teo's weapon. The crossbow unleashed its arrows much faster than any regular bow, putting much more power behind them. Longshot would be impressed. This new weapon would be able to revolutionize war.

"Well... now what?" Ty Lee asked them.

"You heard what she said. To the Outer Islands!" Keioushi yelled, punching his hand up into the air.

"Yeah!" Ty Lee cheered. Mai sighed. Ty Lee abruptly stopped, and looked to her left. "Well, let's go that-a-way!" she said happily, pointing to the east.

As they walked into the new direction, Nodoka thought that maybe Teo wouldn't be a burden after all.

* * *

It was nearly sunrise when they found an island where Appa could rest. It was in the middle of the ocean, with no other land in sight. With a start, they realized it was the pirate island. They had forgotten all about it. They landed on the eastern beach of the island, nearly in the same place as they were a year ago. They now knew to avoid the town on the other side of the island.

Katara breathed in the salty air, her eyes traveling upwards as she gazed at the huge cliff, with green trees all the way on top. She saw the remnants of Toph and Aang's earthbending battle, where Aang was proclaimed a master. The rocks unearthed were now weathered, or washed away into the ocean. Seagulls loudly passed over them, flying towards the Fire Nation.

"Hey Sugarqueen, come on!" Toph yelled, interrupting her thoughts. The waterbender turned back to the others, who were all setting up camp. She sighed. That was also something they did not have to do in a while. She went over to them to resume her cooking duties. After all this time, she was the only one who could make anything edible. When their group was larger, Song and Jin usually helped her. Unfortunately, neither of them were here. And this time she had to cook for Aang, Toph, Zuko, Azula, Jet, Meng, and herself.

"Zuko, could you start a fire for me?" she asked, but he seemed to be busy. Aang lit the fire with a flick of his wrists. "Thanks, Aang," she said with a smile. As he stood there, the wind rustling his white robes, she couldn't help but notice how much older he looked. His hair was almost the length of Zuko's now.

He smiled back, a half-hearted smile, suggesting that his mind was on other things. After a moment, Katara realized that she and Aang haven't sat down and just _talked _for such a long time... It was as if they had grown more distant. Was he still a brother to her, or just a close friend? She began to wonder if the fact that they were all heroes to the world was the only thing that was binding them together. The thought seemed to sadden her.

"You've really grown, you know that?" she asked, trying to re-strengthen the relationship between them. He was her protective, lovable younger brother, and she had forgotten that. Suddenly she felt so guilty. Aang scratched the back of his head and averted his eyes, looking embarrassed. Her bright blue eyes looked up at him. He looked so tall from where she was crouching, next to the fire. She stood up. As soon as she did, her eyes widened. "You're almost a head taller than me now!"

He laughed. "You can't expect me to stay short forever," he said.

"Well, no, but this'll definitely take some getting used to." With a start, she realized that he would be fourteen soon. His birthday was coming up sometime in that season. Come winter, it would be two years since she and Sokka found him in the iceberg. After an awkward silence, she said, "You know, Aang... We really haven't talked to each other in a while. Er... How are you?"

She almost slapped herself because of how stupid she must have sounded.

He chuckled. "I'm doing pretty well." For a moment, she was hit with a sense of déjà vu. She remembered having conversations just like this with Aang, except that their roles were reversed—he was the one feeling awkward, and she didn't know what was going on. But, of course, that was when he had feelings for her. Un-brotherly feelings. But now things were better. He had Toph, and she had Zuko.

And he was just a brother to her, and she was just his sister. _Yupp, everything's right.  
_

She was desperately searching for a topic to keep them talking, but they were interrupted by Toph. Katara had a momentary twinge of annoyance at her, especially when she rudely asked if breakfast was ready.

"No, not yet," she responded, and she got back to work. Aang chose that moment to get up and walk away, strolling along the beach. She watched him for a moment as she absently stirred the thick porridge, but she was distracted by loud fire blasts. Azula and Zuko were sparring on the other side of Appa, so the only thing that she could see were jets of fire unleashed into the air, blue and red. Jet was nowhere in sight, while Meng was sitting atop Appa, staring at the sea, which was glowing bright with the rise of the sun. She had dark shadows under her eyes, suggesting a lack of sleep.

Jet suddenly sat down next to her, sighing as he stared at the fire. "Food's not ready yet," she told him. He was silent. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Don't try that with me."

"Huh?"

"I don't need Toph to tell me that you're lying," she said teasingly. "What's bothering you?"

Jet sighed again. "Azula."

"What's going on?" she asked, concerned.

"I think she lies to me," he said quietly.

"Azula _is _a good liar," Toph commented. Katara glared at her.

"Yeah, well, whatever, I don't care anymore," Jet said, standing up.

"Tell me what she's been saying," Katara asked.

"Let me guess," Toph said, leaning back. "You think she's been skipping off with some other guy and she's been secretive about it. And now you're getting jealous."

Jet raised an eyebrow. "Something like that."

"How do you know she's been doing that?" Katara questioned.

"Well, I don't, but she's being all... dodgy," Jet said. Katara giggled.

"Azula's always like that!" she said, biting her lip to stop her laughter. "Just give her a chance."

Jet was about to respond, but a voice interrupted them. "What about Azula?" it asked deviously. The Fire General herself jumped straight over Appa, landing in a cat-like crouch near their fire. Fire Lord Zuko walked around Appa, shaking his head at his sister. He offered a smile to Katara, which she returned.

* * *

After a quick meal, Katara stood among the waves, letting them swirl around her, letting them become part of her. The gentle touch of the sun was warm on her face as she practiced her waterbending, letting it weave around her in all of its complexity. After a few minutes, she felt the presence of someone behind her. She turned.

"Hello, Zuko," she said with a smile, noticing the young man as he sat on the sand, watching her.

"I hope I'm not interrupting you," he said, beginning to stand up.

"Oh, no, it's nice," she responded. She walked over to him, pulling the water from their wet clothes. He grasped her left hand in his, their blue and gold eyes staring into each other. Her right hand went up to his face, resting on his scar. She was hit by a feeling of guilt as she remembered her promise to him all those months ago, a promise to heal his scar. She felt horrible for forgetting... but they hadn't been to any spirit oasis water.

"Don't worry about it," he whispered, knowing what she was thinking. "It's fine."

"Yes, but I promised," she said, frowning.

"Don't frown," he said, his mouth twitching into a smile. She immediately smiled back, unable to feel upset when he dearly wanted her to be happy. Once she smiled, he kissed her, putting his arms around her as she put hers around his neck. Suddenly, a large wave came and swept them both under it.

She let it carry her, knowing that her precious water would not harm her. It was better to be passive to such a force, which could be both terrible when angry and gentle when in peace. She simply chose not to fight against it, and she tried to convey this to Zuko, whose hand was clutching hers. He tried pulling, but she gently squeezed him, calming him.

In moments they both washed up on the sand, sputtering. But at the same time, the waterbender was laughing as Zuko looked completely waterlogged and miserable. She fell back into the sand, letting the air back into her lungs. Zuko fell next to her, their hands still joined, as he began laughing too.

"Look at us, both master benders defeated by a mere wave!" he said dramatically, water droplets streaming down his face. His amber eyes smiled as she laughed with joy. It was simple pleasures like these that she had missed while they were held by the strictness of the government, unable to simply be kids while ruling a Nation. This was what Katara missed about traveling the world.

He leaned over her again and kissed her, and this time, no waves crashed into the two, but simply circled around them, unnoticed by Zuko and Katara.

* * *

"Hey, what's up Twinkletoes?"

Aang concentrated on the fireball in his hands, trying to heat it with intense force. "Nothing," he responded sadly.

"Don't do what Jet just did," Toph said, annoyed. "Because I can tell that you're lying."

He sighed. There was no escaping the truth with her. "Do you still... even like me?"

Toph just stood there for a moment. "Well... You're whiny, you're annoying, you're hyper, tall, way too noble, and wimpy." She was grinning. "But, I guess I still do. Why are you worrying? Come on, let's go back to everyone else."

"Wait a minute," he said, walking over to her. "You're afraid to show what you really feel like, aren't you? When we talk about stuff like this, you seem so embarrassed and shy and un-Toph-like."

"Yeah? And what's your point?"

"Tell me what you really feel," he whispered, coming closer to her. He looked into her pale green eyes, as her sightless gaze was locked on the ground. He pulled her into a hug, stroking her black hair. He knew he would normally never get away with this, but he caught her off guard. Lately, she had been almost ignoring him, or pushing him away. It made him feel almost... rejected.

"You already know," she responded, unmoving in his arms. "I... l-love you, and... You were the very first person to understand me. You freed me, made me feel wanted, part of a family... and stuff. Is there really a need to be disgustingly sappy and say it over and over and over again?"

Aang laughed. "I guess you're right. I'm sorry for worrying. Sometimes I just forget that you're not like that."

She grinned, going on the tips of her toes to kiss him on the cheek. When she pulled away, he pulled her by the arm and brought her into a full kiss. Blood rose into her cheeks, and she shyly looked away when they separated. Sometimes, she hated how he always made her feel like this.

But at the same time, she couldn't live without it.

* * *

"Hey, Azula?"

"What?" she asked, irritated. She was deep in meditation, and she didn't want to be bothered by anyone, especially Jet.

"I've been doing some thinking..."

"Well, that's a first," she snorted.

Jet ignored her. "I thought that since we're both stuck here together like this, we'd better get along."

"Just get along? How about a 'sorry?'" she asked, smirking. He was silent. "I'm waiting."

"Well, it's not all my fault! You need to be more direct!"

"_Me_? Be more _direct_? I'm as direct and precise as you can get," she snorted again. "But I guess I know what you mean." Pause.

"All of our fighting is pointless."

"I agree."

"So... everything's better?"

"Guess so."

"That was simple."

"What, you were expecting a long argument?"

"Well, you're Azula. Of course I was," he said with a sly grin. She laughed.

"I guess you're right," she said in response, grabbing him by his chin and kissing him. "Now, General Jet, I order you to kiss me again."

"Gladly, Princess."

* * *

Meng watched the three lip-locked couples from atop Appa with a fair amount of disgust. "Hmph," she said, crossing her arms. Momo and Appa agreed with her.

She thought that Aang having a new girlfriend besides Katara was interesting, but it still didn't help to dull her feelings of sadness.

_Those three floozies and their dumb boyfriends_, she thought, with just a twinge of jealousy.

* * *

**Author's Note: I thought that Jetzula bit at the end was horrible. So sorry you all had to read that.**

**Again, I'm sorry about my slower updating. All of these chapters are very difficult for me, for some reason. Hopefully it'll get better, because I have big plans for this story, and the one after this.**

**Please review!**


	5. The Marshlands

**Author's Notes: I give credit to Alexandraya for the main conflict in this chapter. She'll know what it is. Thank you very much for helping :)**

**Anonymous Review Responses:**

**PenguinPuu25: Lol, everyone's concerned with who Meng will end up with. I don't know if it's going to be much of a surprise, because I've seen the pairing done before. Oh well. The person she'll be paired up with, however, won't travel with the GAang. Unless you guys really, really want him to. Heh... a plushie? Well, if you really want to! That'll be cool to see!**

**Bonnie: Thank you, those were the main points I've been trying to work on, especially in this story :) Glad you like it!**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 5: The Marshlands_

Sokka decided that they would head to the Northern Water Tribe first, as opposed to heading to the Southern Tribe. He was just there, anyway. There was no need to see his Gran-Gran again so soon. Sokka, Suki, Shuang, Jin, Haru, and Malu all left from the northern part of the Fire Nation, planning to pass over the northern Earth Kingdom to get to the Water Tribe. Only Shuang had seen this part of the Earth Kingdom, so it was for the most part unknown lands for the rest of them.

The she-bison gradually lost altitude with her passengers just as the Earth Kingdom shores were in sight. The pregnant bison was getting weary, landing clumsily on the ground. The six jumped off of Yanna, looking at their surroundings.

"Good girl," Malu cooed to her friend, patting Yanna's head. The tired bison grumbled tiredly in response, licking her.

"Where are we?" Sokka asked, looking around them.

"You tell us, you're the one with the maps," Shuang pointed out, lifting his foot out of the thick mud on which they landed. He looked at his boot with disgust.

The six travelers landed on the marshiest part of the Earth Kingdom. There was thick mud as far as the eye could see, huge puddles of water all around them. Unfortunately, they could not see very far ahead, as there was a thick fog impairing their vision. There were few trees, all of them gnarled in shape. Bugs bit at their faces, irritating them quickly.

"So... are we gonna make camp?" Malu asked them.

"Nope, we're gonna walk," Sokka responded, rolling up his map as he decided on a direction. "Let's go."

"_Walk_? In this?" Jin asked in disbelief.

"Let's do it, we've slept enough on Yanna," Suki said to them. As soon as this was said, rain began to fall, and Haru, Jin, and Malu groaned. Still, they walked with their friends, albeit grudgingly. Shuang seemed to be the only one not bothered in the least by the rain. He was running all around them and reminding them uncannily of Keioushi.

"Y'know, if we run into anything now, I'd completely destroy it, and show 'em who's boss, all I'd have to do is _this _and a little bit of _that _and _wham_, done!" he said excitedly, punctuating his words with waterbending motions.

"Stupid waterbenders," Sokka mumbled under his breath, drenched to the bone. "Ouch!" he yelled suddenly, falling face first into the muck beneath him. He immediately threw himself into a standing position, clutching his foot in pain. "Owowowowowowow! Stupid rock!"

"What happened?" Suki asked him.

"I tripped on a huge rock, what else does it look like?" he said, still bouncing around in pain. Haru used his bending to lift the rock out of the mud, cleaning it off.

"It's not a rock, it's a statue," he said, an eyebrow raised. "In the middle of a bog?"

"That's weird," Jin said.

"And creepy! Look at it!" Malu said, pointing at the statue. It was of a young woman, her face showing immense fear. Her hands were held out, showing every detail of her body, every ripple of her clothing, in a kind of grotesque beauty.

"But it's so detailed," Suki said. "Who do you think made it?"

"I don't know, but I see more!" Shuang said, looking all around. "You can see bits of stone under the mud, and they're _everywhere_." Haru lifted several of them out of the ground, and it turned out that many of them were Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, and even Water Tribe soldiers. They even saw one of the ancient Air Nomads.

"I don't think people made these!" Malu said in fear.

"What, you think people just randomly turn into stone now?" Sokka asked sarcastically. Nobody noticed the slight movement of the mud, as if something was under it.

"Think it could be spiritual problems?" Jin asked, inspecting some of them.

"What if it's that Earth God!" Shuang said triumphantly, as if solving some great mystery.

"Why would it be him?" Haru asked, arms crossed. "As far as I know, _your_ Water Goddess doesn't turn people into water." Whatever was making the mud move was now in the water, a long, dark shape, still unnoticed by the arguing teens.

"Guys, I doubt it was any of your Gods," Suki pointed out to them, sighing. "We should just investigate."

"I do _not _want to end up as bendable material for Haru!" Shuang said in protest.

"Guys, shut up! I see something in the water!" Malu yelled out.

"Wait! I know where we are! Whatever you do, _don't _look at the thing in the water!" Jin cried out. "We're at the Huifu Marshes!"

"What the hell is that?" Sokka asked her.

"It must be a basilisk that turned all of these people into stone! If we look it in the eyes, it'll happen to us too!" she said, panicked. At that moment, the figure lifted its head out, sending a pillar of water into the air. The huge snake was over twenty feet tall, and that was only the part of the body sticking out of the water. With lightning speed, it flashed at Jin, but she brought up her katana just in time to block its sharp fangs, her eyes shut tight.

Shuang condensed the water into sharp waves, lashing out at the tough scales of the basilisk. The creature shook its head, clutching Jin's katana in its teeth, but she held on tightly. It flung her several feet in the air, where she landed on the soft mud. Sokka rushed at the softer stomach, his black sword gleaming, but the serpent slammed its body into the ground, crushing him under it. Suki screamed out Sokka's name, running at it with her own small katana, hacking at its scales but doing very little damage.

Haru used the mud to push it out of the way, off of Sokka, hoping desperately that the water and soft mud saved his life. Shuang was using his waterbending to try and pull the young warrior out from under the creature. Malu distracted it from the air, swinging her staff periodically to anger it, her eyes screwed shut.

With a low rumble, her bison flew into the fray, swinging her powerful tail. The basilisk was visibly seething at this, as it flicked its head out at her, attempting to bite.

"Yanna, get out of here!" Malu yelled. "Go somewhere safe! Now!" The beast growled in protest, refusing to leave her master's side. "Think of your children, Yanna!" Below, Jin returned to the battle, hacking at the monster's scales. Reluctantly, the pregnant bison left, growling loudly.

The young airbender landed on the ground, holding both of her hands at her side. The wind began circling between her hands, and she unleashed it with her Razor Disc attack. The disc of wind whizzed through the air, cutting a long gash in the serpent's back. It hissed in pain, thrashing around. Its tail slammed into Jin with the force of a rhino-bull, sending her flying again. Miraculously, Shuang and Haru were able to pull Sokka out. The warrior was sputtering and covered in mud, but otherwise okay. Suki agilely jumped out of the way of the monster's attacks, tearing with joy at seeing a perfectly alive Sokka.

The serpent switched its target to Shuang, fangs bared, as he attacked with his eyes closed. Spikes of ice formed under the basilisk, but they were crushed easily as it slithered over to the waterbender, its tongue flitting in and out of its mouth. The human could not retreat fast enough, and the predator was moving toward him quickly. Just as it was about to strike, he threw up a wall of water, warding off its blows. On the third strike, the snake's head was glanced off one of his shields, but it swung its head sideways and smacked him several yards away. Shuang didn't move.

Sokka was the first to catch up to the serpent, plunging his sword close to Malu's previous gash on its back. The snake thrashed in pain, hitting Sokka with its tail, and unable to take anymore pain, the warrior fell unconscious.

Malu, Haru, and Suki were the only ones left standing as Haru threw mud on its face, temporarily blocking its sight. The basilisk plunged deep into the water, going under the three as they waited in fear. Haru attempted to drown it by holding it under with the large amount of mud, but this caused the stable ground they were standing on to collapse and fall into the water.

"Help!" Suki yelled, struggling to get out of the mud. It was pulling her under, and it was not because of Haru... Malu propelled herself out of the water with a burst of air, just as the serpent did the same with its strong body. Haru was sent flying straight up into the air, falling to the ground with a dull thud on the mud, unmoving. Suki was somehow able to grab onto the great snake, holding onto its upper back.

Suki was grabbing onto Sokka's black sword, which was still sticking out of the creature's back. The basilisk attempted to shake her off, but to no avail. It snapped at Malu, who was gliding around its head, trying to find some way to kill the creature before they all died. She flew around every attack, but as the snake pulled back to hiss, it struck again, and this time Malu wasn't so lucky. One of its fangs cut along her arm just as she was trying to dodge, and immediately she fell straight into the ground. Suki gulped. She was the only one still able to fight.

She stared hopelessly into Sokka's meteorite blade, tears threatening to fall down her face. There was no way she could win, not when she couldn't look the creature in the eyes, not when it was faster than her, not when it had venomous fangs. She was no bender, and definitely not the best fighter in their group. Several times on their adventures someone else had to save her. Several times she felt useless. She knew, many months back, that Sokka felt this way too, until he sought the sword master Piandao. The warrior's confidence grew, and he was able to protect her more than she could protect him. The thought saddened her.

She had no powerful weapons, no secret attacks. Most of their group trained constantly, becoming much more powerful than she. They all had a trump card, but her style of fighting was only suited to taking down other humans and their weapons. Not something like this. There was no way she could win. She would fail her friends, before they even got to the Northern Water Tribe. They would all be eaten by this snake, or turned to stone.

She realized that it began to rain again, as the basilisk foolishly looked for the Kyoshi Warrior. It must have stopped sometime during their fight, but now it was running in rivulets down her face as she clutched onto her fiancée's sword.

In her mind's eye, she saw Sokka, his own face close to hers. _You're strong, Suki. You can do it._ _You're a warrior of Kyoshi. Stand up for your people. Show the world just what you can do!_

With Sokka's encouragement, she climbed, somehow using her fingers to pull herself up the creature's slippery neck. As she climbed, she pulled the black sword from the monster's body, holding her lover's weapon in her hands. Her own katana was lost during the fight. She pulled herself up to the top of its head, her eyes shut tightly, and stabbed.

She plunged it right into the basilisk's eye, as the monster thrashed around, screaming in pain. Thick, black blood gushed from the wound as Suki pushed in the sword to the hilt. The blood completely covered her hands, but she didn't care as she struggled to hold onto the blade. The monster flung its head left and right, but the force became too much for her. She went sailing through the air, landing in a crouch on her feet. Her golden fans were taken off of her belt while she was in the air.

With anger, the basilisk lunged towards her, the sword still sticking out of its eye. Grim determination was set on her face. She had to save her friends. Only she had the power to help them. It was finally her time to shine.

She jumped out of the way of the attack, slicing at the snake as she passed it. She hit only air. It swung its head sideways, but she jumped over the blow. She watched it swing its head back toward her—the side with the wounded eye—as she held her fans out in a stance. She saw her own reflection momentarily in the golden fan as the green creature swung toward her. She sidestepped the blow, and as it was coming back to hit her again, she threw one of her fans.

The speed of the fan suggested that she would be able to slice the creature with it, but it recoiled just in time, as the fan passed over its face. The casual observer would say that she missed. No, it was just what Suki wanted to happen.

In the crucial moment when the fan passed right by the monster's yellow eye, the basilisk shrieked in pain. Grey spread over its body, starting from the eye, covering the basilisk completely and immobilizing it. The serpent was petrified by its own attack.

Suki let out a breath of relief. She closed her remaining fan and put it on her belt, walking over to the unconscious Malu. Her skin was pale; the cut on her arm was curiously not bleeding. The basilisk venom was attacking her insides. Luckily, Suki was the studious type, and she knew the only cure to the venom—the actual blood of the basilisk. And there was enough of it all over her hands.

She smeared it over the airbender's cut, and from there she knew it was going to be okay. Only a small part of the basilisk's fang got her. From there, she checked on the rest of her friends, and when she saw that they were okay, she went and retrieved her other fan from the mud and pulled Sokka's sword from the stone basilisk's eye. That done, she searched through Malu's pockets for her bison whistle. For the first time in a long time, Suki felt like she accomplished something good.

* * *

Aang watched Azula as she tossed the ball of blue fire up and down, mesmerized. For days, he had been trying to use blue fire, forcing the intensity of the heat into his palms, to make the fire even hotter, for it to turn blue. Suddenly struck by utter madness, Aang approached her. They had just landed somewhere south of General Fong's military base in the Earth Kingdom, and the others just finished making camp.

"Hey Azula?"

"What?"

"Can you _please _teach me how to use blue fire?" he begged. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I don't teach," she responded.

"Zuko said the same thing! But look! I'm a master!"

"You really want to learn that badly, huh?" she asked, a hand on her hip. He nodded eagerly. "Well, it's actually not that hard."

"Then why can't I do it?"

"You're _obviously _doing it wrong," she said, sighing. "Get in an attacking stance and breathe deeply." He obeyed without any trouble. "Now, focus—"

"Wait," someone said, coming up to them. Both Aang and Azula were surprised. It was Zuko. "I would like to learn." Once Azula nodded in confusion, Zuko got into the same stance as Aang.

"Well," she continued, "as I was saying, focus some fire into your hands." She did the same. For all of them, it was red. "Blue fire," it turned blue, "is not totally fire. It's a mixture of regular fire and your chakra."

"My chakra?" Aang asked, confused. "But I usually use chakra to unlock the Avatar State!"

"This is different. Instead of letting it flow freely, force your fire chakra to change its direction into your hands. Focus all of your will, determination, assertion, power, joy, and anger in you." She had her old, fiery look in her eyes as she clutched her fist, holding it high in the air. "Force all of it into your hands! Let it out in the form of fire!"

The red and orange flames in Aang's hand turned to a shocking blue, an identical copy of Azula's. Zuko, however, was not able to do it.

"Why can't I do this?" he asked, trying to control the anger in his voice.

"Aang is the Avatar, duh," she said with a smirk. "He's done this in previous lives. However, if you two want to use white fire, which I don't doubt, Aang won't be able to learn it as easily. Father was the only person able to use it consistently, so even the Avatar has no past knowledge of it."

At that moment, Aang's fire turned red again. "That's it? That's how long it lasts?" he asked, sounding disappointed.

"You've got to 'exercise' your chakra. Use blue fire often, and you will be able to use it for much longer," she responded.

"Wait, so if only father was able to use it..." Zuko said slowly. "Then you won't be able to teach us how to use white fire?"

She shook her head. "I didn't say that, dum-dum. I know... the theory. I've listened to his lessons with General Piza. Piza himself wasn't able to use white fire consistently, but that's beside the point."

"If you know how, why don't you ever use it?" Aang questioned.

"I see no need for improvement. I _am _the strongest firebender in the world," she said offhandedly. "Even if you do learn how, I'm perfectly content with where I am, thank you," she added curtly.

"Tell us what you know," Zuko said. "I need to get stronger, I need to learn how."

"White fire, from what I heard, is based off of your qi. It is different from blue fire, which is based off of chakra."

"Qi? I've heard of that before..." Aang said. Zuko nodded in agreement.

"Qi is all around us," Azula explained. "Some call it the life force, or spiritual energy. It is part of everything that exists. It is definitely much more difficult to use than blue fire. Like chakra, you need to exercise your qi to be proficient with white fire. While blue and red fires come from within us, white fire is from the forces around us. It is the heavens, the earth, the spirits, the plants, the animals..." As she spoke, Azula seemed so unlike how she usually was. She seemed to be calmer, more appreciative of the world. "Anyway," she quickly snapped out of it, "get practicing. I've told you everything I know."

Blue fire came to life in Aang's hands again, as he focused the chakra into them, feeling the power flow through him. It was much different than the energy flowing all around his body like he usually was with the Avatar State. Azula walked away, letting them practice on their own. Each time blue fire sparked in Aang's hands, he was able to do more complex things with it, such as move the fire around him, toss a fireball up and down, and even kick it out of his feet. In contrast, by the end of the lesson Zuko was only able to keep blue fire alive for a short time before it died.

"Don't worry Zuko, you're doing great. Azula wasn't even expecting you to be able to even get it yet!" the Avatar said to him in comfort. Apparently, this was the wrong thing to say.

"She expects so little? She thinks I'm a failure too, just like father did," he growled, punching the ground. Aang frowned.

"Don't think that," Aang said. "I thought you didn't care what Ozai says of you. You're a completely different person now, much different than how you used to be. You're stronger and smarter and you can lead a Nation."

Zuko smiled. "I wish everything you are saying is true," he said. "I guess that's what it looks like on the surface, huh?"

"No, really, you're doing great!" the Avatar responded. "But seriously, if you need help, just talk to us. We're your friends, aren't we?"

The Fire Lord nodded.

"Then we'd always be willing to help, like we have been, like we always will be," Aang said, smiling. He held out his hand to Zuko, in an offer to help him up. Zuko took his hand.

"Thanks."

"Let's get back to camp."

* * *

Nodoka, Mai, Ty Lee, Keioushi, and Teo climbed the hill, heading determinedly to their destination. Teo pushed himself up without much trouble, as it was a reasonably flat surface. Nodoka was the first to get to the top, followed closely by Mai. He took a deep breath, surveying the land deep below them.

"The Outer Islands," he said, looking to the east. It was where the nobles of the Fire Nation regularly lived—it was paradise.

"You've done a good job," Mai said softly, putting her arm around his back. He put his across her shoulders. He looked at her inquisitively. "Oh, I know what you've been worrying about. I can read you. You've been worrying about leading us." She put her head against his shoulder. "I think Zuko picked well."

Nodoka looked down at all the greenery, looking so peaceful in the orange sunlight. Gulls flew over the islands, which were far below them. The ocean crashed against the shores, giving off a soothing sound. He loved being in the Outer Islands. The only other time he was there was when everyone dragged him off to Ember Island.

Nodoka kissed Mai softly as the evening sun behind them set behind the mountains.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Well, there's a little bit of Nodoka/Mai for you :) Unfortunately for them, the Outer Islands are going to be anything but peaceful. Heheheh :D**

**Again, I do not own the idea for the basilisk. My humble thanks to Alexandraya.**

**Who saw the Day of Black Sun?? It was awesome! I won't spoil anything, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't know if you guys noticed, but several things from my Day of Black Sun actually happened in the show... :)**

**Anyway, please review! Next chapter we'll get over to Kei and his group!**


	6. The Combustion Man

**Author's Notes: Remember when I said I'd try to incorporate some of season 3 into this story? Well, here you go. It's obvious that I don't own him or the girl appearing in this chapter :)**

**Oh, you guys know those armed soldiers that go around the Fire Nation towns in season 3? Some of them are firebenders, while others just wield swords. Most of them where that headgear. They're both men and women. Well, in my story, they're the Blaze Brigade! They protect the Palace and the towns!**

**Okay, I'm going to tell you guys how much I've incorporated Season 3 into my stories. This might take a while, but it's just for informational purposes.**

**The Awakening: Absolutely nothing like this happened in my story.**

**The Headband: Everything that has to do with the Headband will be seen in this chapter.**

**The Painted Lady: This bit's interesting. In the story with the Gang's children, the spirit will make an appearance. Dock also had a cameo as the Underworld's "Charon" in the Phantom World chapter. Other than that, there was nothing.**

**Sokka's Master: I spoke about this briefly last chapter, but this whole episode happened during the Gang's year in the Fire Nation.**

**The Beach: In a few chapters, I'm going to take the idea of Mai and Ty Lee's pasts to use for a bit more character development. Also, I was right about Azula being hurt because of her mother :) I've also mentioned Ember Island in passing.**

**The Avatar and the Fire Lord: This episode quashed my whole Roku-is-evil theory, so nothing was really taken from this episode. If you want, Roku can still be Zuko's ancestor.**

**The Runaway: Nothing. Except perhaps Hawky. Haven't decided yet.**

**The Puppetmaster: I so wish I could put that episode somewhere in my story! But alas, I can't. Katara already knows how to bloodbend, she figured it out herself. And she likes it.**

**Nightmares and Daydreams: Nothing. Aang stressed about the Fire Lord a little bit, but he didn't suffer from lack of sleep.**

**Day of Black Sun (Part 1 and 2): I've mentioned this numerous times, and I'm not gonna spoil it, but I've got some parts of it right! If you saw it, you'll see the comparisons.**

**The Western Air Temple: I haven't seen this, but I heard there's a new type of airbending that'll be introduced. Later in the story, I'll put it in, and it'll be super cool. In addition to that, I've also invented one myself :)**

**Okay, that's about it. Sorry if it just took up space.**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 6: The Combustion Man_

Kei took in a deep breath of air. He was a little wobbly as he got off of the ship, especially after being on it for so long. He never liked traveling by sea. Funauta, the port town they landed in, was full of bustling people, none of them looking twice at the warship that docked in their city. Kei's face turned green as he felt sick to the stomach.

"Here, take this. It'll make you feel better," Song said to him, smiling gently. She held out a small vial. He took it gratefully.

"Thanks," he managed to get out, drinking it. Smellerbee and Longshot stepped off of the ship after them, followed by the Fire Nation soldiers. Their destination was the Air Theocracy, all the way to the northeast of the Earth Kingdom. They all had to go completely by foot.

"Kei," Smellerbee said to him, "Longshot thinks that we should check out Makapu."

"What's Makapu?" the Fire General asked.

"Meng's village, the one that was destroyed by the Rough Rhinos," Song explained to him.

"Why?"

"We need to make sure it was really them, and find out where they went. You know, search for clues," said Smellerbee. "It's only a day out of the way. We can do it."

"Captain!" Kei called to one of his soldiers. "Go on to Akikaze without us. We'll catch up later."

"Yes, sir!" he said, quickly saluting.

* * *

Luckily for them, the destroyed village of Makapu wasn't far from Funauta. It took them about half a day to get there, which was uneventful for the most part. Song gasped upon seeing the ruins. Everything in sight was charred and blackened, the buildings were destroyed, and the skeletal remains of the people were being picked at by scavenging birds. Kei rushed at them angrily, swinging his sword to scare them off.

"We have to do something for these people," said Kei, huffing.

"This is terrible! Meng had to live through this? She saw everyone dying around her?" Song gasped.

"They knew she was watching," Longshot said solemnly. "She told us they saw her."

"The same thing happened to Jet," said Smellerbee sadly. "The Rough Rhinos destroyed his village and his family."

"We have to stop them before they can destroy any more families," Kei said resolutely.

"It's the least we can do for them..." said Song. Longshot walked over to the stone steps which led up to the center of the village, where the Fortuneteller made her predictions.

"The earthbenders fought back," he said emotionlessly. Kei looked up at the half dome of black rock which covered the village protectively. He remembered Aang telling him about how he saved this village. The four were silent for a moment.

"I've never seen the Rough Rhinos," said Smellerbee, "but Jet knows all about them. There are five."

The other three stopped looking around to listen to her. Smellerbee knelt down on the ground, sifting the ash through her hands. "Each of them are weapon specialists. Their leader, Colonel Mongke, is a master firebender. Another was previously a YuYan Archer. There was one specializing in a spear, another in explosives, and another with chains."

"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Kei.

"There are also rhino prints. Yes, it was the Rough Rhinos that attacked this town," Smellerbee muttered to herself. "Well, they're not heading to the Air Theocracy."

"How can you tell?" Song asked.

"Smellerbee is an excellent tracker," Longshot answered.

"I can see this whole battle played out in my head," Smellerbee said, smirking. "Anyway, they're headed south. They're not after the Air Theocracy."

Song let out a breath of relief. Neither of them wanted to fight against these people, except perhaps Kei.

"We should go after them," he said. Song put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"No, there's not much we can do. Going after them won't bring these people back to life. Besides, our mission is in Akikaze," she said reassuringly. He remembered Aang telling him something that Aunt Wu, the Fortuneteller, once said, "_Our village will _not _be destroyed this year!_"

Her prediction was right. The village was destroyed a year after.

"There is nothing more we can do," said Song. "We should keep going to Akikaze now." Longshot nodded, and together, the four of them walked out of the village. Kei looked at it one last time, sighing.

If he ever met the Rough Rhinos, he vowed to finish them.

* * *

After getting off of the small ferry, Mai looked all around them. An assassin such as her had to know their environment well. They landed on a small beach, but beyond that was a huge forest of pine trees. The ground level steadily rose, and up on the plateau in the middle of the island stood a town. Beyond that were two small mountains. From what she remembered, the town was a place for mainly the noble class, holding one of the most prestigious schools in the Fire Nation.

Nodoka, Ty Lee, Keioushi, and Teo got off of the ferry after her. Once the war ended, ferry routes were set up for people traveling among the Outer Islands. It made travel much easier. One could ride a ferry from the capital city to one of the furthest islands away in about a day.

"What's that loud thumping?" Ty Lee asked, scratching her head and looking around.

"I dunno, but I hear it too. It sounds like rocks moving," said Teo, equally confused. At that moment, they all saw an explosion flare up in the town.

"The city is under attack!" Keioushi shouted. They all ran toward it, eager to help defend the city.

* * *

"Hey, where are you going?" the boy asked her. The girl ignored him, quickly going through her breathing exercises. "We're supposed to stay inside!"

"Shh, be quiet!" she shushed him. If she was caught, her plans would be ruined.

"Don't tell me that you want to help!" the boy said, astonished. She didn't answer as she wrapped her cloth belt tightly around her waist. As she did this, another boy came to the two, this one much larger than the both of them.

"Hey, get away from her!" he said to the smaller boy. He squeaked in fright.

"Leave him alone, Hide," the girl said to him. The large boy looked gob smacked. She was tired of being pushed around by him. She was supposed to be his _girlfriend_, not one of his slaves or possessions.

"What did you say to me?" he asked, visibly angry. The smaller boy looked frightened, looking back and forth between them both.

"I'm doing what _I _want, and Shoji wanted to stop me," the girl answered, nonplussed. The two of them stood behind her, both staring in shock.

"Don't tell me—," Hide started, but there was a loud _boom _from outside. "—that you want to help the Blaze Brigade!"

"Of course I do, they're outnumbered," she answered matter-of-factly. Hide gaped.

"I'm going to tell Ms. Kwan!" he taunted. "Me and you--we're over with!"

"That's fine with me." Once Hide left to tell the teacher, the girl turned to Shoji. "Listen, you should get out of here before Ms. Kwan and Hide come back. If they bring the Headmaster, you're going to be in trouble."

"B-but," he stuttered. "Y-you might get hurt!"

"I've been practicing. I'm taking a chance. I'm going to do what my mother died doing. I'll protect this city, because she's gone," the girl said bravely. Shoji seemed like he wanted to cry, but he hugged her quickly. She was surprised, but she hugged him back.

"Be careful, On Ji," he said sadly.

"I will," she responded. She began to walk out, but their strict teacher, Ms. Kwan, entered the hallway.

"On Ji! Shoji! What is this that Hide tells me?" she said, sounding angry. "Get back in here at once!"

Shoji looked at the girl desperately, but she shook her head. She ran towards the exit of the building. "On Ji, get back here!" Ms. Kwan shouted. The two Blaze Brigade members with her ran after the girl, but Shoji, the normally timid boy, blocked their way by tackling into the two of them. The girl threw open the doors and ran outside.

She immediately saw a scene of destruction. As soon as she got outside, two people rushed at her, curved swords bared. She dodged between them, shocking herself with her own reflexes. At that moment, the two Blaze Brigade members that were chasing after her dashed out of the building, but the two sword wielders engaged in combat with them, and On Ji took her chance and ran.

* * *

Mai was the first to reach the town, flinging her metal knives at two of the rebels that were attacking the city. As they were falling, the other four of her friends jumped onto the scene, weapons swinging. There were many more than they thought from the beach that were attacking. The girl guessed that they came from the east side of the island, perhaps from behind the mountains.

She was surprised to see a weaponless man rush towards them, kicking the ground. A boulder jumped up into the air, which was kicked at her. She was about to dodge, but Keioushi and his metal knuckles punched through the attack.

"Earthbenders!" Ty Lee exclaimed, shocked. "Attacking the Fire Nation?"

Mai threw some darts at the man, but he summoned up a wall of rock to protect him. Ty Lee jumped right over it, her fists sailing toward his pressure points. The earthbender collapsed on the ground, unable to bend. Nodoka lunged at one of them with his spear, but the man was getting ready to bend something to attack him. Mai quickly threw a shuriken at the man's am, disabling his bending while Nodoka finished him off.

Teo wheeled passed his friends, who were cutting a swath through the rebels' forces with just the four of them. He was still hesitant about fighting, but he had his crossbow ready nonetheless. Some tried to attack him, thinking him to be a harmless boy, but he quickly shot them before they could attack him again, so he wouldn't have to kill them. A quick bolt to the arm or leg would usually stop them for long enough.

The young boy was totally shocked to see a girl around his age fighting three earthbenders, all of them surrounding her. Fireballs shot from her palms, but each of the strikes were blocked with slabs of stone. Teo fumed. Why were these rebels fighting young girls that probably just got caught in the middle of the fighting? She had only mediocre bending skills!

One of the earthbenders stomped his foot on the ground, causing the ground to ripple and send her off her feet. The girl kicked out at them with firebending, but they all laughed. "She can't even stay on 'er feet!" the man exclaimed, laughing the loudest. "What does she hope ter do against us?"

He readied his crossbow, all hesitancies about fighting gone. One of his bolts shot the earthbender in the back, when he promptly fell onto his knees. His other two comrades turned to look around, and were surprised to see a boy in a wheelchair. They were snickering. The girl looked up hopefully. _She's rather pretty_, he thought. She had wide, innocent eyes, and evenly-cut brown hair. She was wearing some type of uniform.

One of the earthbenders stomped his foot, and a block of stone sent Teo and his wheelchair up into the air. The boy stared at them without flinching, aiming his crossbow at them. He pulled the trigger. It shot the man right in the shoulder, and his eyes widened in fear.

"That thing's fast!" the other shouted, surprised. The girl slowly got up behind him, moving her hands around for one of her stronger firebending attacks. He didn't notice her until a wave of fire came from her finger tips, knocking him into the ground. Her knees buckled, but she remained standing as she was panting.

"This is tough," she managed to say, but she smiled at him. "Thank you." He smiled back, rolling his wheelchair over. He was careful to roll over the earthbenders' fingers.

"Why were they attacking you? It's not right to attack normal citizens, especially children!" he said, staring at her sympathetically.

"Because I attacked them first," she said, shrugging. "I'm On Ji, by the way. Nice to meet you."

The boy's eyes widened. She was really brave. "I'm Teo, nice to meet you too."

She smiled at him again, but several more earthbenders attacked the two after seeing their felled comrades. On Ji kicked at them, sending a small arc of flame flying towards the earthbenders. They raised a wall of stone to block the attack, which slid out towards the two. The two children sped away from the attack, retaliating with attacks of their own. One of the earthbenders lifted a slab of stone to defend, while another pulled large rocks from the ground, which he sent flying towards them. He struck On Ji on the head with one, knocking her unconscious.

"On Ji!" Teo yelled, firing his crossbow. Their attacker fell to one knee after being shot in the leg, while another sword wielding rebel was shot in the arm.

* * *

Mai began to notice the absence of Teo after some of the earthbenders fled from their successive attacks, but they were given no time to look for him. The four friends heard a piece of metal continuously crashing against the ground, but they had no idea where it was coming from—until it stepped out from behind a building.

It was a giant of a man, and the first thing she noticed about him was his metal arm and metal leg. The arm was covered in deadly spikes, making the man look dangerous. His prosthetic limbs made noises every time they crashed against the ground. And then they realized who his targets were.

Them.

Mai flung knives at him, but his metal arm lifted up and blocked the attacks. It was then that Mai noticed the weird symbol on his forehead that looked oddly like an eye. The rest of his head was completely bald, except for his beard. Mai sharply inhaled when she remembered something important about the symbol.

"_Who hired you?" Mai asked impassively._

"_Why would I tell you?" she retorted, but Keioushi bent her arm at a painful angle. She grunted in pain. "I... couldn't tell. It was a man from the Outer Islands...!"_

"_What was his name?" Nodoka pressed._

_She grit her teeth as Keioushi bent her arm back further, threatening to break it. "I don't know, but he had... a symbol... on his head."_

This was the man that hired that assassin to kill Zuko and Aang.

Nodoka rushed at the man with his spear, but he didn't move at all to dodge or block. The only movement he made was a slight intake of breath that only Mai caught, but a thin ray of light came out of the eye on his forehead. Nodoka wisely dodged the attack, but the four of them jumped back when the spot Nodoka was standing in a second before exploded.

"What the hell was that?" Keioushi asked, shocked. Nodoka jumped toward him again, but several consecutive beams of light came from the man's third eye, interrupting his attacks as they all exploded, causing him to jump out of the way. Mai flung kunai at the man, but his weird "mind beams" accurately hit each of them, blowing them to pieces.

"I think we should run!" Ty Lee yelled. The other three listened to her without question, choosing to run down one of the side streets. Mai threw some darts back at the man in an effort to slow him down—he was surprisingly fast—but he destroyed each of them.

"Teo!" Keioushi shouted, seeing the boy as he was shooting down earthbenders all around him. There was an unconscious girl on the ground next to him, and the earthbenders were quickly overpowering him. The four tried to help, but the large assassin caught up to them, shooting his energy beams at them. They had no choice but to fight, being surrounded on both sides by the enemy. Explosions ravaged the street as the man tried attacking the four nimble fighters. Ty Lee tried edging up to him to stop his chakra from flowing, but he was extremely observant and wouldn't allow any of them to try a sneak attack.

Keioushi, unpredictably, attacked the man head-on, ducking under the beams of light as they went sailing over his head. Several times he threw himself on the ground to avoid the man's long range attacks. The missed attacks nearly hit Mai, who had no choice but to fling one of her knives at them to make them explode before they hit her. Was this some advanced form of firebending?

While Keioushi was attacking him from the front, Nodoka edged to the side of him, marveling at Keioushi's abilities as a distraction. He plunged his long spear at the man, but the metal hand suddenly came up and blocked the attack, grabbing the sharp part of the spear and trying to pull it toward him. He quickly looked at the warrior, and then let out an attack from his forehead. Nodoka's eyes widened and he had no choice but to let go of the spear and jump out of the way. He had no chance of pulling it from the stronger man's grasp. The man hurled it at Ty Lee, who was trying a sneak attack of her own. She was able to dodge the unexpected attack just in time.

Mai tried going to Teo's aid, but the unusual firebender before them was determined to keep all of their attacks on him. Mai figured out that he was only trying to distract them from thwarting his raid on the village. But why was a firebender leading a group of earthbenders against a Fire Nation town? The earthbenders were closing in on Teo, who was shooting his crossbow frantically. Mai made the fatal mistake of taking her eyes off of the man, and at Nodoka's warning shout she looked back quickly. One of the light beams was heading towards her, and she jumped out of the way right before it was about to hit her. Unfortunately, she didn't fully escape the explosion. The girl was blasted back against one of the buildings. Black clouded her vision, and she knew no more.

* * *

"Mai!" Ty Lee shouted, watching her friend go sailing into the building. She fell unconscious. She tried running over to help her, but the loud noise that signified one of the man's attacks stopped her. At that moment, she saw what distracted Mai in the first place—one of the earthbenders that Teo was fighting knocked him out, and they were dragging him and that unknown girl away. She tried running after them, but Nodoka shouted at her.

"Ty Lee! We need you here!"

"But they've got Teo!" she yelled back in protest. Nodoka seemed to be indecisive for a moment while Keioushi was distracting the crazy man.

"I could use your help here, guys!" the red-haired warrior shouted. Nodoka ran to retrieve his spear, as the firebender launched an attack at Ty Lee. She squeaked and jumped out of the way. Her other friend was in trouble, but her boyfriend and Nodoka were probably going to die! She reasoned that if those earthbenders wanted to kill Teo, they would have done it already. But they were taking him somewhere. But where? Ty Lee rushed at the firebender, eager to get the fight over with so she could go rescue her friend.

The earthbenders behind them were retreating, damaging the town as they rushed past buildings to leave. They barreled over the Blaze Brigade. The metal man rushed right passed Ty Lee, who only stood, gaping. He was so tough, but he was just running away like _that_? Nodoka and Keioushi followed after them, but he was extremely fast and kept turning to stop them with one of those attacks from his head.

When the smoke from the series of explosions dissipated, he was gone, along with Teo, the girl, and the earthbenders, leaving only destruction in their wake.

"We have to help Teo!" Ty Lee shouted, desperate to rush after them.

"We can't," Nodoka said sternly, holding her back. "We have no idea where they went or where they're going. They will not seriously hurt him."

"How do you know?" Keioushi asked.

"Because that man wanted Zuko and Aang," Nodoka answered. "He probably needs those two for a trade."

"But why them?" Ty Lee asked desperately.

"Teo is close with the Fire Lord. That girl just got in the way—an added bonus," the silver-haired warrior explained. He ran over to Mai, who was still slumped against the building. Her clothes were singed and torn, but otherwise she looked okay. Nodoka picked her up in his arms. Ty Lee thought about that strange man and his explosive firebending... and then she realized something.

"Wait! I know who that guy was!" she yelled. The Blaze Brigade, who were looking around for the wounded, looked up in surprise. "He's like, a legendary bounty hunter. I remember hearing about his weird powers. They call him the Combustion Man!"

"The Combustion Man?" said Keioushi. "That's a weird name."

"Yeah, I know," Ty Lee agreed.

"He's a bounty hunter?" Nodoka asked. She nodded. "Then that means we haven't found the person behind everything yet."

"What do you mean?" Ty Lee asked, surprised.

"It means that someone hired _him_, too."

* * *

**Author's Note: **_**Dun dun dun. **_**I kinda like the Combustion Man and On Ji. I'd rather she get paired with Aang than Katara... Oh well :( Speaking of her, I know it doesn't say if she's a firebender or not in the show, but I kind of really wanted to put her in somewhere, so I just made her a firebender. She's not amazing, but she knows a bit of the basics. She won't play a huge part in the story anyway.**

**Well, I'm still accepting any drawings of people. Just message me or leave it in a review if you really want to :) Overall, I kinda liked this chapter. I wrote it surprisingly quickly, too O.o Anyway, we got to see what was going on with Kei and that group on their way to the Air Theocracy. It's kind of far, so they won't get there until later.**

**Next chapter will probably be out by the weekend, so I won't see you guys, so Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Have a great time!**

**Please review! I didn't get as many as usual last chapter :( You guys normally spoil me XD**


	7. The Arcanum

**Author's Notes: Definitely my least favorite chapter so far. Not too much goes on here, in my opinion. It just ties up another loose end... Sorry it took so long.**

**Anonymous Review Response:**

**Bonnie: Unfortunately, no. On Ji won't play a major part in the story, and she won't have any ultra-mega-cool battle scenes, so she doesn't become a master firebender. Sorry!**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 7: The Arcanum_

Katara siphoned the water out of the washed clothes, folding them neatly and putting them in the basket. She hummed a tune her mother used to sing to her when she was a child as she worked. It was a slow, happy tune, and Katara found herself humming it more often now, ever since returning to the South Pole. The rest of her group wasn't far away from her, doing their own tasks in the camp.

Somehow, the kids found themselves in a familiar town. They had landed in the forest of Hei Bai, the forest spirit. The outer edges of his forest were still destroyed, but green saplings poked through the ash, and the villagers played their part by planting young trees. The part of the forest surrounding the village itself was as green and lush as ever. Aang was delighted. After a good night's rest, the group planned to get to the village by the morning.

Aang and Toph were practicing their earthbending a ways off from the camp. The Avatar was currently doing exercises to build up his muscles, shirtless, to aid him with some of his bending. Katara watched as the sunlight shone down on him, Toph and Meng watching off to the side. Toph made it increasingly difficult for him, but he prevailed, conquering the added weights and persisting with his exercises. For some reason, Aang did not practice metalbending, preferring to thoroughly master only the art of bending earth instead of the advanced skill. He made up for that with his raw power and nearly endless amount of energy.

As always, Aang was practicing earthbending during the evening, firebending when the sun was at its zenith, airbending in the morning, and waterbending at night. During his firebending training, he and Zuko constantly worked on bending blue fire, so much that Katara felt the chakra emanating from them that she normally associated with battles with Azula, or, more recently, Piza. Their endurance with the advanced firebending was increasing.

For his airbending training, he worked alone, forsaking his root to the ground as he took to the skies, looking down at them as ants while he looked like some majestic god. He seemed to become a little fiercer with his airbending, using more damaging attacks and power. Normally, airbending wasn't about power or damage, but his experience with the other elements seemed to have taught him otherwise. Still, he did not use the attacks that the more "modern" airbenders created, such as Malu's Razor Disc.

Katara and Aang continued to practice waterbending at night, when it was strongest. She tried to teach him the complex art of bloodbending, which she had come to call it, but he did not want to learn such an ability. He did not like having that kind of control over people, but like with metalbending, he made up for it with an enormous amount of skill. Also, he didn't use plantbending as much as Katara did. She used that skill almost as much as regular waterbending, especially in forested areas such as these. Anyway, she respected his wishes, so she did not question him. But sometimes, she wondered...

If Katara, Zuko, Toph, and Malu all fought against him, would he be able to best them with his power over their advanced abilities? She thought about asking for a challenge one day soon, but they were missing out on a master airbender. _Maybe another day_, she decided. She would have to wait and see if her hypothesis was correct.

Finishing with the group's laundry, the waterbender made her way back to the camp, putting the basket of clean clothes on the ground as she sat down next to Zuko. They were all eating Meng's cooking, which was surprisingly delicious. Katara was relieved to have someone else in the group with a talent for cooking. It was a type of thick vegetable broth, probably Earth Kingdom gourmet, she thought. They were all seated around the fire, holding empty soup bowls and wishing for more.

"Where'd you learn to cook, Meng?" Aang asked her, stuffing a spoon of it into his mouth. The girl was blushing under all of the attention as she scooped more into all of their bowls.

"Someone had to in my house. My mom was a terrible cook," she said, but there was a sharp intake of breath from her at the end of her sentence. The rest of the group was silent as Meng scooped the broth into their bowls with more gusto, eager to finish it quickly so she could eat in silence. Katara let her arms drop into her lap, suddenly losing her appetite for more of Meng's soup. She stared at the young girl with sympathy, seeing the fire reflected in Meng's own dark eyes. Jet stood up suddenly, going over to Meng and laying a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, and he walked off into the direction of the woods. Everyone's eyes were on him as Meng got up and followed him.

_What was that about? _

* * *

Meng went after the older boy, confused as to what he wanted. She rarely spoke with Jet, so his sudden request to talk with her made her a little nervous. She followed him to the edge of the campsite nonetheless as he turned around and leaned against a tree to face her. She slowed her pace as she neared him, her hands behind her back and her eyes on the ground as she waited for him to speak first.

"You're being very strong," he said. For a moment, they were silent, the only other sound being an owl hooting somewhere in the dark forest behind him.

"I'm trying to accept it, I guess," she mumbled quietly. "Fate wanted it to happen, so there's nothing that I can do."

"What's with you and all this talk about Fate?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"I was Aunt Wu's attendant. She was a fortuneteller in my village," Meng said. "She was teaching me a lot of stuff, and... I guess I'm starting to pick up on it now."

"You can control your own fate, you know," he said.

"What, you expect me to stop those guys?" she asked, a hint of anger in her voice. She abruptly turned away. "You wouldn't understand, anyway," she muttered darkly.

"Don't say that," Jet said, visibly trying to control his own anger. "I understand better than the rest of them. I too, lost my family, and my village, and it was all because of those same people. The Rough Rhinos destroyed my life too, and I was about your age, maybe younger. So don't say that I don't understand. I've been seeking revenge on them all my life... but the opportunity hasn't presented itself yet."

Meng turned to him again, staring into his eyes as she processed his words. "Revenge?" she asked weakly.

"Yeah. I want to fight them and give them as much pain as they gave me," he said darkly.

"...I do too."

"What?"

"I want to fight them too." Her gaze was penetrating, as if she was trying to convey to him the emotions she felt about them, to somehow show the depths of her hatred. "Can you... teach me?"

Jet was silent, thinking about her request. The two of them were the only non-benders in the group, the only two who lost their whole families and village to the same enemy. It would make sense for them both to seek revenge. But she was so young. True, Aang and Toph were her age when fighting the Fire Lord, but Aang was forced into it; he had no choice. Meng had a chance for a better life, free of conflict.

"No." Maybe the old Jet would have said yes. Maybe the old Jet would have let her join the Freedom Fighters, where she would learn to fight to survive and hate her enemies.

Once he answered, Meng did nothing. Jet walked back to camp.

* * *

On Ji dabbed at the boy's head with her cloth belt. The two were locked together in some kind of prison cell in an unknown place. Silver streaks of light leaked through the small window that was barred and out of their reach. Teo was lying on the cot, still unconscious, as On Ji wiped away the blood on his head with the wet cloth. Other than the cot, the only other object in the room was a bucket of water.

As she nursed his wounds, she wondered about the boy. They had just met, and he was fiercely protecting her during the fight, even after she was struck unconscious by the earthbenders. From what she gathered from the guards' conversations, Teo was fighting for quite a long time before they finally got him. Nobody had defended her like that before. Hide, of course, tried to, or at least from other boys, but because he was possessive, not because he really cared about her. But this boy, this _stranger_, had protected her with his life, apparently killing others before they could get to her.

She gently laid a hand on his cheek once the dried blood was cleaned away, wishing for him to wake up soon so she wouldn't be so lonely anymore. When she awoke, she reasoned that the two were there for at least one night already, and it had been two hours since then. She wondered when, or how, they would get out. Would anybody come to rescue them? Did anyone know they were missing? _Well, I suppose that the school knows... _she thought.

When she decided that Teo was going to be fine, she curled up on the stone floor, trying to let sleep claim her.

* * *

Toph enjoyed the feeling of the wind on her face as they flew through the morning sky. They were on their way to the town that Aang, Katara, and Sokka had been to. Aang told her that it was right before he learned of Sozin's Comet, and where he and Sokka were both trapped in the Spirit World. According to Aang, they were right over the town, and Appa began lowering himself right in the middle of everything. The earthbender jumped right off of the bison, immediately feeling the houses and walls around her. The walls weren't too sturdy, in her opinion, and the people around her felt too excited.

"Avatar Aang!" someone called. Judging from the voice, she figured it was an old man, complete with a cane, she noticed.

"Hello, how is everything?" Aang asked politely.

"Quick, get your bison out of here, and come into my house!" he said urgently. The people around them had quick, nervous heartbeats. Toph was on her guard for anything. The old man bustled into one of the small homes as Aang unsurely dismissed Appa. Katara, Jet, Azula, Zuko, and Meng looked confused, but followed the man. It was then that Toph noticed the large, wooden building at the head of the town, and all of the people hiding into their own homes.

"What's going on?" Aang asked, once they were inside. The old man looked around nervously.

"There is a secret organization called the Arcanum that has taken over our town," he said quickly, in a hushed whisper. "We cannot drive them out. They say if we fight, the whole organization will come and destroy us!"

"Wait, so that whole Arcanum thing isn't even here?" Toph asked in disbelief. She cracked her knuckles. "Let's get rid of 'em."

"No!" the man said fearfully. "We don't know who their leader is, but he's left two important members to lead this town. You cannot win," he said, shaking his head solemnly. "Both of them are very powerful earthbenders."

"They can't be that strong, can they?" Katara asked.

"Yes, they are! One of our people ran at him with a sword, but the man grabbed the metal and crushed it with only one hand! He can... control metal!"

"_What_?!" Toph screeched. "I'll bust their faces in!" Before she could throw open the door, Zuko went in front of her, blocking her path.

"Don't do anything yet," he said. "Like he said, their whole group will come at this town, and they will destroy it."

"Then after getting them out of this town, we'll just attack the Arcanum at its source," Azula said matter-of-factly.

"Easier said than done," Jet said. "Where can they be?"

"We can try Ba Sing Se," Katara suggested. "There are all kinds of people there."

"That's a good idea," said Aang.

"Well, then. Let's do this!" Toph said with a smirk, cracking her knuckles. "I'll show the world that I'm the only metalbender!"

"Can any of the villagers fight?" Katara asked the old man.

"There's no need," Aang said, his brow furrowed. "We can do this ourselves."

* * *

The seven of them were standing in front of the entrance to the town, waiting for one of them to step forward and initiate the fight. Aang's hand searched through his pockets, and when he found his bison whistle, he put it to his lips. Moments later, Appa burst from the trees, worried over how his friends were.

"We're fine, buddy," Aang said to him with a smile. "Meng, I want you to get on Appa and stay there. It'll be too dangerous for you in a little bit."

The girl put her hands on her hips, about to argue, but she must have realized that he was right. Unfortunately for her, she had no fighting ability whatsoever. Grudgingly, she got on Appa's head. She smirked down at Aang.

"You never said we didn't have to get away from the fight!" she said happily, clutching Appa's reins as she stared determinedly ahead. Momo flew over to her hair, settling himself on it like a perch. Aang sighed, but did nothing.

"Well, can we get this fight going?" Azula asked, noticing nobody else on the streets. She jumped forward, unleashing a jet of flame on the huge house, where there were immediate roars of confusion and anger. Someone destroyed that part of the building, bending sand onto the fire to stomp it out. A thin man wrapped in the clothes of the sandbenders stepped out, fury written all over his face.

"Who the hell did that?!"

"Us," Azula answered, her trademark smirk on her face. The man's eyes widened, and he ran back inside. "That wimp."

Moments later, around two dozen men ran out of the large building, ranging from all shapes and sizes to different clothing styles. Some were clearly earthbenders, while another might have been a firebender. They all carried various weapons and definitely seemed like thugs. They burst into laughter at seeing a bunch of kids standing defiantly down the road, while the kids simply stared at them.

"Let's show 'em," Toph said with a grin, cracking her knuckles again.

"Alright, but don't seriously hurt—" Aang said to them, but he was cut off when Toph and Jet rushed at their enemies. He sighed, but unfurled his glider as the rest of his friends followed after Toph and Jet.

Two men wielding curved swords stepped forward to fight the earthbender and the Freedom Fighter with confident grins on their faces, until a quick kick from Toph sent rock into one of their faces and Jet disarmed the other man. Katara pinned several more into the wooden buildings with conjured ice, but a blast of air from Aang and Appa finished them off. Meng cheered.

"Those townspeople couldn't fight those losers? How pitiful," Azula said with a roll of her eyes. "Where's the infamous metalbender?"

Jet kicked open the wooden doors to the large building, holding his hook swords in front of him. He lowered his swords in surprise when he saw what was inside. There was one burly man sitting with a chest of gold, while another smaller, robed man calmly sipped tea. The boy lifted his swords again in anger. "Two fat pigs living in luxury, huh? Just what I expected."

The muscular man lifted an eyebrow, stood up, and cracked his neck. "I'm impressed. You kids got past all of my men?"

"_Your _men?" the other man asked. "I thought we both controlled them!"

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Toph yelled suddenly, clutching her head in anger. "It's been _you _two idiots all along?!"

"Is that you, Toph?" the smaller man asked. "Your father will be pleased! You can't escape us this time!"

"Who are they?" Aang asked her.

"Two idiots that my parents hired to bring me home ever since I met you guys. When we were in Ba Sing Se, they tried to kidnap me, but it led to me learning metalbending," she replied, clearly irritated. "How'd you two get outta that metal cage?"

"Oh, wait! I remember you now!" Katara said, pointing to the two of them. Aang nodded with her. Zuko shook his head and sighed.

"Well, Toph," Master Yu began to explain, "Xin Fu was able to learn metalbending because of you! We had to get out of there somehow, and he knew it was possible."

"We've been training since then. It's time to bring you home, you little brat," Xin Fu said angrily.

"My parents know that I'm with them, and I'm allowed now, you big dunderheads!" Toph yelled loudly. By this time, the villagers came out of their houses, watching the argument with interest.

"If you two have been looking for her for all this time, why did you bother even trying to take over this puny, insignificant place?" Azula asked them, sighing. "You guys truly don't know how to be a villain."

"But you would," Zuko muttered. She didn't hear him.

"We've, uh... Joined a nice rebellion. They call themselves the Arcanum, and the leader really has it in for you guys," Master Yu recalled.

"Who is it?" Katara asked, scratching her head. "A lot of people hate us."

"Anyway," Yu continued, as if he were never interrupted, "We've... figured that it would be nice to get powerful?"

"Not good enough. Get out of here!" the tiny earthbender shouted.

"Wait, who's the leader?" Aang asked them, as they were all getting ready for a fight.

"It's a secret," Xin Fu replied, the metal chains around his arms flying towards Toph. Jet stepped in front, letting them coil around his blades. He pulled, but Xin Fu pulled harder. It became a test of strength, and the earthbender was clearly winning until Azula sent a blast of pressurized fire his way. A block of earth from Yu defended him, but Zuko sent a similar blast of fire at Master Yu. More and more slabs of stone rose from the ground to block their attacks, which were all simultaneously kicked at the two firebender siblings. They jumped above them, but the rocks followed. Their eyes widened, but before they could react, they were hit. Katara conjured a stream of water, slicing at the chains that held Xin Fu and Jet together. Toph and Aang's earthbending attacks sent Xin Fu into one of the walls, but he retaliated with a powerful attack of his own. Aang back flipped out of the way, while Toph simply destroyed it and hurled all of the sharp pieces back at the man.

Zuko and Azula landed painfully, but stood back up as soon as they could. Streams of blue fire from their fingertips were sent at the slim earthbender, but Zuko took it a step further and turned them into blue whips. The fire siblings glared at the earthbender. Zuko did not know this man, nor did he care who he was. He was simply a threat in Zuko's eyes, a fighter against peace. Though this man was from the Earth Kingdom, he felt that it was his responsibility to eradicate all evils in the world. This man held an important place in the rebellion, the Arcanum, as he learned, and he needed to be stopped. There was no other option.

The whips lengthened as he swung them at Yu, who pulled a column of rock from the ground to block the attack. The blue fire effortlessly crashed through the simple defense, slicing through the earthbender's robes with blazing heat, worse than the pain of a sword. Master Yu cried out in pain, but the Fire Lord was merciless. He rushed up to him, his whips dissipated, kneed him in the chin, then spun around and kicked him straight into the air. The earthbender went up in a high arc, falling slowly to the ground. The man pushed himself up just as slowly, shaking as he did. Zuko unleashed a wave of stunningly blue fire onto him, devouring him completely. When the flames washed away, Master Yu was gone.

And then he was there again, bursting out of the ground right behind the young Fire Lord, sending a punch to his face, which hit him squarely in the jaw. He recoiled at the man's unexpected strength, but when he countered with red flames, the man was underground again. Zuko was panting. While he was practicing almost non-stop with the art of blue fire, it still tired him out easily, and he was not able to use any more until he got some rest. As he was turning around warily, looking for the earthbender, he was suddenly struck again by a kick to the back, but when he spun around the man was gone again. Azula was behind him, also on her guard, not striking the man when he surfaced because of the large chance of hitting Zuko.

Suddenly, rock spikes jutted from the ground all around the two. All they could do was jump out of the way, blasting those that they couldn't avoid. Zuko jumped from spike to spike, his broadswords out and ready, waiting for the coward to surface again and fight head-on.

And then he did, jumping out of the ground all the way on the other side of their destroyed battlefield. "It seems that my trick is working," he gloated to them. "I've never fought another firebender, so I've never had the chance to try it out. Two firebender royals bested by a master earthbender." He laughed, clearly amused. Appa rose behind him, turning around to let his tail face the man. Master Yu didn't notice, too busy enjoying one of his rare victories. Zuko and Azula wisely kept their eyes on him. Appa's tail rose. "Well now, I guess it's time to finish you off. I have never killed bef—oof!"

The bison's tail flapped so suddenly and with so much power behind it. The winds produced from the powerful animal's bending were the epitome of its strength, the mere force of the wind throwing the man into the ground, the gales storming around him with enough ferocity and pure power to create a crater in the ground. Master Yu didn't move—he didn't stand a chance. Meng, still on Appa's back, whooped cheerfully.

* * *

After his chains were destroyed by Aang's monstrous firebending, Xin Fu rushed at the children holding only his fists, yelling out in rage. Jet ran at him bravely, his hook swords held behind him, ready to strike. Just as the two were about to clash, Jet ducked under the man's punch, weaving behind him to force the hilt of his sword into his back. Just as he was about to hit him, Xin Fu's elbow struck Jet's unprotected chest. He slid backwards, falling to the ground on his back, holding a hand to his chest with pain.

With a swing of Aang's staff, powerful winds were unleashed on the earthbender, but he anchored his hands and feet into the ground and withstood it. He ripped his hands from the ground, pulling chunks of stone with them, and ran at Aang with them covering his fists, ready to punch the boy senseless. Toph came to his rescue, shaking the ground enough to make him stumble while she gathered up all of the ripped up rocks around them, unleashing them on Xin Fu in waves. He was completely covered in stone, but it exploded, sending pieces at all of them. Katara pulled the moisture from the air into a slick stream of water, slicing at each rock that came at her. She alone remained unharmed from that attack.

She turned the stream into several knives of ice, each of them flying at the powerful bender. She was to his side, and as far as she knew he didn't see the attack coming, but just as they were about to strike he threw up his fist, each of them stabbing into the back of his hand. He simply smirked as the blood dripped down his arm. The waterbender gasped, but she conjured another stream of water, letting it float inches from her hand as she rushed at the man, the water held like a sword. It sliced out at him as she ducked and dodged under his strong punches. She scored a few hits on him, causing him to bleed all over, but just as she was about to finish him off with a knockout move, Aang did it for her. During their fighting, the young Avatar seemed to have gathered huge amounts of water from the air and from his water pouches (he now carried two) and let it fly in a torrent at the earthbender. He totally disappeared from Katara's sight as he was enveloped in it, but when the water was gone the man was unconscious on the ground, apparently slamming into the village's walls.

Katara and Aang fell to their knees, panting. She never remembered fighting such a powerful earthbender in her life. She wasn't even sure if Toph could win against him. She crawled over to Jet to check his injuries as Aang did the same for Toph. Both seemed to be fine, just hurt. They were both conscious, but completely winded.

Zuko and Azula ran over to them, closely followed by Meng who landed Appa right by them. "Are you alright?" Zuko asked her, falling to his knees next to Katara.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered truthfully, wiping some blood from her lip. She was so involved in the fight, she didn't even notice when he hit her. The two firebenders also seemed battered, but fine overall. Some of the townspeople emerged from the houses, and as they noticed that their controllers were beaten, they cheered. Others procured old wooden handcuffs, binding both Yu and Xin Fu, while the other Arcanum members were bound.

"We'll hand them into the authorities as soon as possible," the old man said, returning to the kids. "Thank you so much for all of your help, again." He said, bowing as low as he could manage. "You are truly great and gifted people. In your hands, the world will soon return to how it should be."

"No problem, I just wish I could have finished them off," Toph grumbled. "My parents won't be happy." While they were talking, Katara was thinking to herself.

"The Arcanum... we've got to get to Ba Sing Se," she muttered, deep in thought. It made sense. Where else could their base be? The kids had to go to the capital city and put a stop to the rebellion before this small village was destroyed.

* * *

Shuang was leaning over the edge of Yanna's saddle as they flew over the frigid ocean. Haru and Malu were, as usual, sitting on the bison's head, while Sokka and Suki were sleeping in each other's arms. The waterbender morosely watched the water speeding by under them, his own reflection in the light of the moon solely keeping up with their pace. The six would be at the Northern Water Tribe by the next day. He saw Jin appear next to him in the reflection, a sad look on her face as she placed a soft hand on his shoulder.

"Shu? What's bothering you?" she asked, concerned.

"Nothing's bothering me," he mumbled in response. She turned his head to stare him in the eyes.

"Come on, I know you," she said with a small smile. "There's got to be something bothering you."

He sighed. "I wonder if Meng's alright."

"Shu, look at me. She's fine, and she's safe with Aang and Katara and Zuko. Everything will be alright. They'd die for her."

"It's not that," he said, shaking his head slowly. "She's still in pain because of her family and her village. I don't know if she can handle it. When I was around, she needed me."

"I know it sounds selfish, but now we need you now," she said sincerely. "You're important to me. Meng said herself that all wounds heal over time. She knows it, so she'll be okay. Really."

"I guess so..."

"Come on, smile. Please?" she asked, trying to look him in the eyes with one of her own smiles. "I know I'm annoying, but bear with me. If you don't feel good you'll drag everyone down." She beamed in triumph when a smile tugged at his lips, and then she kissed him. "They'll be okay. Have more faith in them."

"I guess you're right."

"You guess?"

"Alright fine, you're right."

"I thought so."

* * *

**Author's Notes: Eh, I guess this chapter turned out alright near the end. Again, I'm sorry for the wait, but real life got in the way. I know, it's a universal excuse, but it's true!**

**Please review!**


	8. The Veldt

**Author's Notes: As opposed to last chapter, I was kind of excited for this one. Aang's group lands in another familiar place, while Kei's is somewhere totally new.**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 8: The Veldt_

Aang felt the slow decline of moisture in the air and the steady rise of the temperature as they flew through the sky. There was still one major area they needed to pass over before getting to the Serpent's Pass and Ba Sing Se—the desert. The young Avatar understandably did not want to return there, but they didn't have a choice. The seven of them had to get to the capital city with the utmost speed before the Arcanum's fighters invaded Hei Bai's small village, and cutting right through the middle of the desert was the quickest route.

But that didn't mean that Aang had to like it.

The last time he was here, they had lost Appa. The tight-knit group of Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph had nearly fallen apart, largely due to the desert's inhabitants, the sandbender's, faults. While they had left them on relatively friendly terms, Aang was still wary in their presence. While the second invasion day made him see them in a slightly better light, the boy didn't think he'd ever fully respect them. Even though they participated in the invasion, neither the sandbender that stole Appa nor his father actually came, instead sending some of his men out.

On top of all that, the last time Aang came here, they had lost a friend; a man by the name of Professor Zei. While the group had only known him for a short time, he was a knowledgeable and very kind person. When the Spirit Library was collapsing, the scholar chose to stay behind. Aang only hoped that he was able to continue gathering knowledge in the afterlife. He hoped to never again encounter Wan Shi Tong, He Who Knows 10,000 things, the spirit responsible for the building and destroying of the library.

He wondered if they would encounter similar problems this time around.

Even Appa seemed nervous flying over the area, squirming every once in a while and letting out nervous growls. "It's okay Appa, we're not landing anywhere near there, okay?" he comforted his bison.

"I don't think so, Aang," Katara said to him, looking straight below them. "Hello!"

"Huh?" Aang looked under them, and saw a tiny village of sand and tightly-packed huts. Sand-sailers were parked outside the flimsy wooden gates, and most of the town was at the base of a large sand dune used for their protection. Some of the people, wrapped tightly in cloth (Aang thought they looked like mummies) were outside of their houses, some of the younger children waving.

"We should stop and say hello," Katara said, smiling and waving back at them.

"Are you kidding? These are the people that stole Appa!" Aang protested.

"But they're nice people, once you get to know them!"

"Aang, they _did _help us in the invasion. They're our allies now," Zuko reasoned.

"Fine, but I won't let Appa out of my sight!" he said, grudgingly pulling on the reins to make the bison land. As they landed, everyone jumped off, except for the Avatar.

"Who would want to live in a place like this?" Azula asked. "It's terrible!"

"It's actually pretty cool," Meng said, holding a hand over her eyes. "There's so much space!"

"Whatever. Let's do what we need to do, and leave. We can't dawdle—we've got to help those people," Jet said, his hands folded behind his head. Aang nodded in agreement. Toph linked her arm into Zuko's when Aang refused to come down as they walked closer to the town. By that time, their Chief came out to meet them.

"Hello, friends," he said, his arms held open in greeting. "Welcome to our village."

Zuko stepped forward and bowed. "The Fire Nation offers its greetings. We hope you and your villages are doing well."

"Fire Lord Zuko!" the Chief said, startled. He, along with the other villagers, hurriedly bowed. "It is an honor to see you again."

Zuko placed a hand on his shoulder, gesturing them to stand up straight. "There is no need to bow to me. I'm not your leader. Right now, I am simply a friend." The man nodded.

"Where is the Avatar?" he asked.

"Oh, um..." Katara said uneasily, rubbing her arm. "He's on Appa." This was apparently the wrong thing to say, as she noticed when guilt passed over the Chief's face. "Well, he likes to be with him. Appa is his best friend!" she quickly amended.

"No, it is okay. We apologize for our rash actions. It was my son, you must understand, he is going through some tough times at the moment—"

"There's no need to apologize. Aang's just being a whiny wimp," Toph interrupted him. "He'll get over it."

"Father!" a cloaked figure shouted, running up to them. "The Hami tribe invaded during the night! Half of our food stores are gone!"

"What?!" the Chief responded, outraged. "We've just replenished our supplies from the last raid!"

"We cannot just sit here and do nothing while they keep raiding our village," the young man responded. Toph noticed that he wasn't the boy that stole Appa. Was this his brother? "We have to fight back."

"No, Krag. That will lead to war," his father responded. "The Chief of the Hami tribe and I are trying to work toward peace."

"They're still going against us! Don't you see?"

"They must be small raiding bands, like yours!" one of the villagers shouted. "You and your brother have only caused trouble for our village!"

"Krag, I forbid you to fight against them," the Chief said in a tone that suggested that they end the conversation. From what little they could see of his eyes, Krag glared at his father and stormed away. The sand dunes around them quivered. The Chief, Shaqi, turned to the Avatar Gang apologetically.

"I am sorry. My son has a deep hatred of the other tribes in the desert," he said to them.

"Why are the other villages raiding yours?" Aang asked, jumping over to them. Apparently, he heard the whole argument.

"I do not know, but I can feel that war is on the horizon. The leader of the Hami tribe and myself are trying to fix it before war does break out. But they are also being raided by other tribes, and my son is eager to go to war," Shaqi explained.

"But he wasn't the one that stole Appa," Toph said. "Do you have two sons?"

The Chief sighed. "We should go into my home and talk. I am sorry for forgetting common courtesies."

"Oh, no, there's nothing to be sorry about," Katara said kindly. Chief Shaqi said nothing as he lead them to the largest home of them all, a small dome made of hardened sand. There were only about a dozen homes in the village, all arranged in a circle around a small pond in the center of town. The place seemed to be a tiny oasis, with underground water continually feeding the pond. Two palm trees stretched out of the ground around it, while a few other, older ones were on the outskirts of the small village. Most of the other homes were made of animal hides, almost like tents. The Chief pushed aside a small flap, leading them into his home.

Shaqi lit a lantern as Zuko and Jet leaned against the walls, the rest of them standing in the center of the room.

Another person, also wrapped in the traditional clothing of the sandbenders, emerged from one of the side rooms, only his face being visible under his clothes. "Oh... it's you," was all he said, and then he walked out.

"That was him," Aang said.

"Yes, that is my younger son, Ghashiun. He was the one that stole your bison. After his mother died, he turned to stealing from the other tribes and causing all sorts of trouble for the people of the desert. He used to be such a kind, innocent child. But now, even his crime streak has worn off, and he is just a weary person. He was close to his mother, and her death is affecting him more than I could have imagined. He is just a shell of what he once was," Shaqi explained sadly. "Krag is the same, yet he ended up causing more trouble for the other tribes."

"I know what Ghashiun is feeling," Katara said dejectedly. "Not a day goes by when I don't think of my mother. She was killed in a Fire Nation raid."

"His mother died of skin cancer," the Chief said. "It is a common illness here."

"Well, I think we should leave. We have more important things to do," Azula interrupted rudely.

"What are you talking about? We've got to help them!" Katara protested.

"What can we do?" Zuko asked her.

"We can stop their war. It's not like we haven't done it before," the waterbender argued.

"I agree with Katara," Aang said, surprising them all. He was the one that wanted to leave this place behind the most. Once again, Aang was taking up his duties as the Avatar. "We should start off with helping Ghashiun."

"Why him?" Azula scoffed. "He was the one that kidnapped your bison in the first place. We should just get those other tribes."

"No, that'll make things worse," Toph said in rebuttal. "Let's just go find him."

"Don't worry Chief. This'll be over with in no time!" Aang said to him, leading his friends outside.

* * *

"How do you feel, Teo?" On Ji asked her companion.

"I feel a lot better, all thanks to you," he said, smiling. The girl blushed.

"I'm glad I've got some company in here. I don't know what I'd do if I was all alone in this place..." she said, looking around at their dismal prison cell, trying not to look in the boy's kind, brown eyes. "Think we'll ever get out of here?"

"Of course. I know my friends, and they'll come rescue me. If they can't, Zuko and Aang will," he said, his eyes twinkling with confidence for his friends.

"Wait a minute, what did you say? Zuko? As in... Fire Lord Zuko?" On Ji asked in disbelief. "Aang... isn't that the Avatar's name?"

Teo laughed. "Yeah, that's them."

"That's... amazing!"

* * *

"Can you see him, Toph?" Aang asked the girl, looking all around. They went outside the thin wooden fence surrounding the town, jumping to the top of the sand dunes to see if they could find the boy.

"If you mean 'see' by feeling his vibrations, no," she answered. "It's too blurry here. I hate the desert."

Suddenly, to the west of the village, they saw sand shoot up from between some dunes. "What was that?" Meng asked.

"That must be them!" Aang shouted, propelling himself forward with airbending to jump right over the village. Katara drew what little moisture she could from the air to form a thin ice bridge across Aang's path, sliding over herself. Zuko, Azula, and Jet slid across fearlessly after her, while Toph and Meng opted to go around.

* * *

Ghashiun ran from his village, desiring only to be alone. He went to a secluded area nestled between a few sand dunes and plopped himself down on the ground. He sifted the sand through his fingers, thinking of his mother and life when everything was normal.

"_Mom! Mom! I got burned again!" a young Ghashiun cried, running into the Chief's earthen home. He found her in the other room, pulling back the collar of his clothes to show her the red burn on the back of his neck from the harsh sun._

"_You haven't been wearing your head wrappings," she scolded. "You'll only damage yourself if you don't protect your skin." He looked out the window as his mother crushed herbs together for a poultice. His older brother, the silent, broody Krag, was training outside. The sand moved at his every command, shooting up in great amounts and creating durable shields. Ghashiun envied him. The older boy was considered a prodigy among his people, mastering the art of bending sand at an early age, when Ghashiun himself could barely do any strong attacks. Krag was praised throughout the village, but to Ghashiun, most people just say, "Maybe one day you'll be as good as your brother."_

"_Mother?" the young boy asked, looking at her. Her back was to him as she worked. "Will I ever be... as strong as brother?"_

"_Only if you work hard and never give up," she said with a smile. Ghashiun frowned. He knew that would take a long time. Krag always used his strength to his advantage, and one of his favorite things to do were scare Ghashiun whenever they walked through the desert. His superior bending would always make him fall, or sink into the sand, or he would create sand monsters. "Even if you can't, your strength is in your heart. That is what people value most in a leader."_

_His mind shifted to another memory, this one much worse, and a few days later. He was walking through the desert with his mother, and she was reprimanding him again for forgetting his face coverings. She took her own off and gave it to him. Vulture-wasps circled overhead, and Ghashiun was able to see a small cloud of sand in the distance, which got slightly bigger as it neared the two. They were sandbenders of another tribe, scavengers, who found more people to steal from. Ghashiun tried to fight them off with his weak bending, but they recognized him as the son of one of the Chiefs. He was taken onto their sand-sailer, as his mother was bound and gagged. They took him away._

_He was rescued a few days later, when people from his tribe went to negotiate with them. His people thought that they took his mother too. When they denied this, Ghashiun realized that his mother was missing, all alone in the desert. Days later she was discovered, barely alive, her skin burned fiercely. She apparently tried to chase after them, to rescue her son. She died soon after._

"Look who it is," Ghashiun heard a voice say. The young man shook his head, clearing it of his previous thoughts. He looked up, seeing the wrapped face of one of his brother's gang members. Ghashiun narrowed his eyes.

"Get out of here," he said, standing up. Four more of his brother's friends came from the top of the sand dune, sliding down to the younger boy. Then, Krag himself came, his arms crossed with a grin on his face. A column of sand shot from the sand dune, but Ghashiun blocked it with his hand, sending it straight up into the air. "What do you guys want?"

"Brother," Krag said, stepping down to him. "We need your help."

"I don't care. Leave me alone," he said wearily. Sand snaked its way around Ghashiun's legs. When he realized this, he futilely tried to pull away, but it held him tightly. Krag still had his arms crossed as the others snickered. Ghashiun's eyes narrowed at his brother. "Let me go," he commanded. He did nothing except smirk at him.

Ghashiun, as well as the other benders in the village, were all jealous of Krag's abilities. He had the unique ability to bend without moving his arms or legs. The sand seemed to bend to his will with just a single thought.

"_Ahh! Mother, make him let me go!" Ghashiun cried, as the sand painfully constricted his arms and legs._

"_Krag, leave your brother alone!"_

"_But I'm not doing anything!" he said, with a quick wink at his brother._

"What do you want?" Ghashiun growled at him.

"It's not really what I want. It's what we _all _want," Krag replied. "Even you."

"You know what I want," Ghashiun said in a low voice, full of anger. His mother's face, deeply tanned with brown hair, flashed through his mind. As always, she had a kind smile.

"This war that's coming," Krag said, completely ignoring Ghashiun, "it's our gateway to power." Ghashiun's brow furrowed in anger. "Me and you, we're the best benders in the village, probably in the whole desert," he continued. "We'll be able to stop all other raids and unite all of the tribes, bringing them all under our control."

"And what would be the point of that? If we're the strongest, they'll all band together and fight against us," Ghashiun retorted. If there was a stronger enemy that threatened the very life of the desert tribes, everyone knew that the tribes would unite to expel it. Even if they were in a civil war of their own, the tribes would band together in the worst of circumstances. They wanted equality. No tribe was allowed to be stronger than another. "And if that happens, we'll be outnumbered."

"Not with the aid of a certain organization. It's called the Arcanum, have you ever heard of it?" Krag asked, a deep laugh in his voice. "These attacks... I've been behind it all, orchestrating the very war that's about to come. In the confusion, we'll strike all the tribes with the help of the Arcanum. Later today, we're setting everything into motion." Ghashiun's eyes widened. "All of the tribes will clash, and I'll set up our tribe for war. I'll be the hero. _We'll_ be the heroes. If we perform the play well, their leader has even offered me leadership of one of the major cities in the Earth Kingdom. I'm offering you a piece of this power. If you're not for us, you're against us."

The silence stretched on. "What's your decision?" Krag asked. Suddenly, they all heard a deep rumble, and a blast of sand right under Krag knocked him into the sand dune on the opposite side. The sand released its hold on Ghashiun, and he and the other sandbenders got into a stance, ready to face the new threat. Then the Avatar jumped over the sand dune, landing in a crouch with a swing of his staff. An arc of air threw them all back, but a wall of sand came up in front of Ghashiun that protected him from the attack. Behind the Avatar, the waterbender attacked with a thin stream of water, and the two firebenders with blasts of their element.

"You're the one behind this!" Aang yelled to Krag, swinging his staff again. The Avatar's friends rushed into combat with Krag's gang, the dual swordsman taking down two of the sandbenders with little work. The sandbenders scrambled up, rushing behind the sand dune to one of their sand-sailers.

"C'mon Krag, hurry up! We can't beat the Avatar!" one of them shouted. Krag shot a glare of hatred at Aang, and then pushed himself into the sky and onto the sailer with the sand. Then, with quick whirlwinds, the desert-dwellers were gone.

"So he's the one that started everything?" Meng asked Ghashiun, who nodded.

"My brother is driven by power," he replied.

"What should we do?" Katara asked her friends.

"You heard him," Zuko said. "They're starting their attack soon. All the tribes will go to war."

"We have to stop it," Aang said determinedly. "We have to try to stop them from fighting—forcefully, if we have to." His friends all nodded, accepting their task. "Ghashiun, we need your help. Go to your village and warn your father."

"Why should I help you?" he retorted, a hint of anger in his voice. "What if... What if I want to join my brother?"

_The Arcanum... Krag is with them too, _Aang thought. _What do they want? What is their goal?_

"Your brother is crazy. Help your tribe, you coward," Azula said scathingly. "What kind of person turns their back on their people?"

"Just leave me alone!" he yelled at them, furious.

"Would your mother want you to go against your people?" Jet asked, arms folded. Aang nearly cringed. That was a harsh thing to say.

"You wouldn't understand!" he cried. "You don't know what you're talking about! Don't tell me what to do!"

"Ghashiun, I _do _understand," Katara said gently. "My mother is gone, too."

"I also lost my parents," Meng contributed sadly.

"You're not the only one, Ghashiun," Jet said, brow furrowed. "We've all lost someone important."

"My parents died ages ago," Aang said dejectedly. "I never got a chance to know them."

"We had to help kill our own father," Zuko said, his low voice becoming deep and commanding, like the leader he was.

The conflict in the sandbender's dark eyes was visible to them all. _"I'm offering you a piece of this power. If you're not for us, you're against us."_

"_You're not the only one, Ghashiun. We've all lost someone important."_

"_Mother? Will I ever be as strong as brother?"_

"_Only if you never give up."_

_Mother... _

"We don't have much time left!" Katara reminded them urgently.

"_Even if you can't, your strength is in your heart. That is what people value most in a leader."_

"Ghashiun! Are you going to help us or not?" Jet asked him. The force in his voice silenced them all. The Freedom Fighter's dark eyes penetrated him; he couldn't do anything. Ghashiun fell to his knees. Jet growled. "Let's go, Aang. We have to do something fast."

"Krag probably has people in all of the tribes, doing what he wants them to do. Where would the tribes meet in battle? What's the central point between them all?" Toph asked them. Even she couldn't mask the urgency in her voice.

Katara's eyes widened. She had a vague memory of their previous adventure in the desert. _"This must be the magnetic center of the desert!" _"I know where! It's that large rock! Remember, we met some members of Ghashiun's tribe there!"

"You're right, Sugarqueen! Let's get there quick!"

Aang and Jet quickly glanced back at the sandbender, who didn't move from where he was kneeling, as they all ran back to Appa.

* * *

"Where are we now?" Song asked. Kei looked to his map for reference.

"I'm not sure, this place doesn't have a name on the map," he answered. The four looked all around them. They had found themselves in open, flat grasslands. Gnarled, twisted trees dotted the landscape, and they could all see a cave in the distance, surrounded by a few trees. There were mountains to the north—the home of the Northern Air Temple. They had to pass through this grassy veldt to get to Akikaze, home of the airbenders.

"Whoa, what the hell is that?" Smellerbee asked, surprise in her voice. The other three looked to where her eyes rested, and saw a sight none of them had ever seen in their lives.

"I've heard of those!" Song exclaimed excitedly. "They're called giraffiroos!" Kei looked at the thing, which was now coming closer to them. He pulled out his sword. "Don't attack it, they're friendly!" Song assured him. Reluctantly, he sheathed his sword. The creature was taller than all of them, hopping to the four on its haunches. It was brown in color, and had a long neck which gave it its height. The head bent down to inspect them with its nose. Song laughed. "It tickles!" Kei looked around at all the other animals that he could see just at the edge of his vision, that he had only seen in pictures or heard of in stories-- Leons, which were fierce, noble predators; rhinophants, huge, armored creatures with ivory tusks; and musklopes, hoofed and antlered creatures that lived in the ground.

Another one of the creatures ambled up to them, this one licking Longshot's face. Smellerbee burst out laughing at him. The second one had a pouch on its stomach, where tiny heads with long necks popped out. Suddenly, the four of them, plus the two animals, heard a loud, inhuman shriek. The baby giraffiroos disappeared into their mother's pouch as the two animals hopped away in fear.

"What was that?" Kei asked them. He pulled out his sword again.

"Run, to the trees!" Longshot shouted urgently.

"What—?"

"RUN!" Smellerbee yelled, pulling him and Song along. Kei looked behind them, and saw three huge creatures bounding after the four. This time, he knew what they were. He heard stories about them: Panthkeys, fearsome creatures with unbelievable size, strength, and speed. They were as black as night, with deadly claws and sharp fangs, and the ability to climb trees with the speed of a hog-monkey. These three combined with their size (which rivaled that of the giraffiroos) and speed, they made fearsome hunters.

Longshot, in an astounding display of skill, turned his upper body as they ran, drawing his bow and shooting at the creatures, doing anything he could to slow them down. One arrow struck one in the shoulder, but it just flinched and kept on running, its muscles rippling. Another was struck in the base of the neck, and the creature let out another piercing screech of pain.

Kei forced his legs to keep moving faster. He knew it was impossible to outrun these things, but they had to get to the trees in the distance... He, like the others, totally forgot about their ability to climb trees with absolute skill. But as they neared, another idea came to Kei. He was able to see the cave, surrounded by a few protective trees. He didn't even think that they would be surrounded in there. His human instincts took over, and he had to get to shelter of some kind, and the cave was all there was.

"Run to the cave!" he shouted to his friends. He grabbed Song by the hand, who was faltering, and pushed himself forward, clenching his sword so tightly that his knuckles were white. He had to get to the cave... to safety...

The General ran through the small thicket of trees, the Panthkeys breathing down their necks, putting on a burst of speed for the last stretch. Their pursuers jumped up into the trees, ready to jump down and take their prey...

Kei threw himself into the cave, Song, Smellerbee, and Longshot right behind him, and the panthers jumped right after the four, fangs bared, but the cave opening closed suddenly, and the creatures crashed right into the stone wall. The four were on the ground, trying to regain their breath from the ordeal. Kei held Song close to him, wanting to protect her, to hold and to comfort her. None of them noticed several figures coming out of the shadows.

"Who are you?" one of them asked. Kei, Song, Smellerbee, and Longshot immediately sat up, staring at the heavyset man and the people with him. They were all dark-skinned, wearing light leather clothing. Some had tribal markings covering their faces, as well as other myriads of tattoos.

"I am General Kei of the Fire Nation," he said proudly, standing up. "These are my friends, Song, Smellerbee, and Longshot."

"Pah! We care not for such titles," the man said, dismissing his words with a wave of his wooden staff. Kei noticed a skull of some type of creature on top. "The Fire Nation, you say? We haven't had any Fire Nation peoples in this land for a long time."

"That may be because of the war," Kei said. "It has ended. The world is at peace."

"There was a war?" he asked, scratching his head. The four of them staggered. _These people must be really isolated from the rest of the world, huh?_

"You didn't know?" Song asked timidly.

"We've been cut off from the rest of the world," a woman said, walking forward. "Nobody has been ever able to leave the veldt because of those monsters outside. We are astonished that you were able to survive being out there, and getting here in one piece." She, too, had tribal markings, probably more so than the others. Judging from her amount of robes and beads, Kei figured that she had some kind of high rank in this tribe.

"So... you people are earthbenders?" Kei asked. He guessed that they were the ones to seal the cave entrance. The Chief nodded.

"Yes, most of us are. We used to have firebenders and waterbenders a long time ago," he explained. "Our series of caves were once considered a haven for the people of the world, wishing to escape prejudices of the other Nations. We live under the ground, safe from the trials and tribulations of the veldt outside. Down here, the spirits keep us safe."

"A place where all three types of benders can live together," Song remarked. "Sounds a lot like Jihen. I like it."

"Three benders? We had four," the Chief said. "Haven't you heard of airbenders?"

"You have airbenders here?" Smellerbee asked, looking mildly interested.

"I am one of the three," the woman said. "Sadly, our numbers are dwindling. My ancestors came from the Northern Air Temple. Does it not stand?"

"It's still around. It's kind of deserted though," Kei said, twisting the soles of his feet on the ground. "You've missed a lot in the world."

"We cannot leave this cave!" a man in the growing crowd said. "Those monsters out there, the Panthkeys, kill all who try to get to the outside world!"

"You can't fight them?" Smellerbee asked.

"No, they are strong. Of this generation, there are only three. You are lucky. If there were any more, you would all be dead," the Chief answered. "For countless years they have kept us prisoner in our own homes. It is astounding that you were able to survive. Unfortunately, you will not be able to leave."

"_What_?! We've got to! I'm not staying in some smelly old cave for the rest of my life!" Smellerbee shouted.

"Smellerbee's right. We've got to get out of here somehow," Kei said, looking to the other two to see if they had any ideas.

"We'll have to fight," Longshot said simply. Song tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Well, we've got earthbenders. That's got to count for something," she suggested.

"We've tried," the man from before moaned. "There's no hope. Their skin seems to repel rock. The flames used to keep them away, but not hurt them. Air does nothing. One powerful waterbender, a long time ago, according to legend, was able to kill one of them."

"That's just a children's story!" another man yelled. More and more people were coming from the bowels of the cave.

"What about... weapons?" Kei asked, unsheathing his sword.

"No man is brave enough to get that close to them," the Chief said.

"Well, we'll have to do it. Like Smellerbee said, I don't want to live in a smelly old cave forever," he said. The people looked slightly offended, but they agreed. Kei looked all around the cave, looking at the primitive drawings on the walls and the torches in the rock. The tunnel led underground, where he guessed that most of the people lived.

"Come on, let's do it! Let's fight!" Smellerbee shouted fearlessly, holding her knife out.

"What? Now?!" Kei tried to stop them, but the earthbenders shouted excitedly and destroyed the wall. The Panthkeys, who lingered outside, pushed all of the rubble away and immediately jumped at one of the earthbenders. A quick arrow from Longshot made it jump back, and everyone went to the offensive. With another one of their shrieks, it lunged at Kei, who was able to block its teeth with his sword. Once it shrieked, the people fled back into their cave. "Cowards," he muttered. He struggled against the monster's strength—it was taller than him. One of the claws lifted up and swiped at him, but he jumped back. Smellerbee was in a similar situation with another one of the creatures, and Longshot and Song were in back, protecting the cave and offering support to the other two.

Another of Longshot's arrows pierced the eye of the Panthkey in combat with Smellerbee, causing it to screech in pain. It thrashed around, striking Smellerbee in the gut and sending her flying into one of the trees. Song shot one of her pellets at the third Panthkey, which exploded in a cloud of lavender smoke. She expected it to writhe in pain, but the monster simply sneezed, and resumed running at the two.

Song bit her lip as Longshot moved out of the way. She remained where she was standing as the Panthkey ran toward her. Kei shouted out for her to move, still in combat with the first of the monsters. She pulled a vial of green liquid from her pack and hurled it at the monster.

On impact, the vial broke, letting the green liquid ooze out. The acid burned at the monster's black fur and flesh, causing it to scream in pain louder than any of them heard. It writhed on the ground, clawing at its face, trying to do anything in its power to make it stop...

Blades of air suddenly lashed out at the creature, and the woman from before jumped out of the cave. Blood was sent into the air from the long gashes on its hide, and by that time the acid burned through the creature's skull. It moved no more. "I've been trying to perfect that technique for a long time," the woman explained. "But nobody has been brave enough to come and fight them with me. If I was alone, it would be suicide."

"You aren't happy?" Song asked her. The woman maintained her serene attitude from before.

"No, I was expecting for them to be killed today. When you arrived, I knew you were all extraordinary people." Her long, blonde hair rippled in the breeze. "I am not surprised."

The second Panthkey, the one with the arrow still in its eye, jumped up into the trees, searching for Smellerbee who apparently jumped up there to hide. The monster thought that she did it. It moved through the trees like it was born there, landing lightly and skillfully on the branches as it let out a low growl, searching for her. It was hunting her by scent, moving through the trees, trying to catch her quick and subtle movements. She smirked. She was a person of the trees too.

She saw her opportunity to strike immediately. As the creature jumped to another branch, she swung from her own branch and kicked it in midair, sending it into the ground below. She landed on another branch, and then jumped down with her knife held out. As soon as she jumped, she realized her fatal mistake. She was counting on an opening to strike it in the chest. But it landed on its feet.

The Panthkey was waiting for her to fall to her death, to eat her, to rip apart her human flesh. Smellerbee's eyes were wide with fear. Right before she would land next to it, a slab of earth was moved above the monster, which she jumped on with relief, then sprang back into the trees. The people of the tribe regained their courage, coming out to help drive out the menacing force. The Panthkey crashed through the slab of stone, jumping at her with all of its feral fury. A jagged rock missile was launched at the creature, catching it in the side and throwing it to the ground again. This time, it landed on its side, giving her an opening.

Now, she was no Mai, but she quickly aimed with her kukri, and flung it. Her knife struck the creature's heart. It was dead. She looked to the person who saved her—it was the Chief.

Kei sliced at the first Panthkey's leg, just as it struck with its other clawed paw. His face became as feral as the creature's, as he used all of his strength to strike it. The monster's claw hit his left arm, causing him to cry out in pain. He continued his attack, rolling under its legs to get to its unprotected underbelly. He thanked Agni for his armor, which absorbed most of the blow. He wasn't counting on the back legs to kick forward at him, so he rolled again, this time behind the creature. Again, he was surprised by it, as the tail swept out at him. The unexpected power behind it threw him backwards, just as the Panthkey flipped around and crouched, ready to spring at him and eat its annoying prey once and for all.

Large rocks suddenly struck it from the air, right on the head, which only irritated it further. Many of the non-benders ran at it fearlessly with wood and bone spears. Some of them were batted away by its claws, but Kei rushed at it again swinging his sword for another mighty blow. He was much more experienced in fighting than these other hunters. The sharp fangs went at him again, but his straight sword lashed at them. He and the Panthkey jumped back at exactly the same time, both letting out mighty roars as they rushed at each other again. The creature jumped up to kill him once and for all, just as Kei ducked below. The monster landed on him. Someone screamed.

The Panthkey was on top of him, completely obscuring his body. Neither of them moved. After a while, some of the earthbenders got afraid and lifted some stone to push the monster off of him. Song rushed forward to Kei, tears in her eyes. The earthbenders pushed the monster over, and they were all surprised to see Kei's sword in its heart up to the hilt. He was covered in the blood of the Panthkey. He was dazed but otherwise okay as he gave Song a grin. She hugged him, completely ignoring the blood that he was covered in.

"Don't you ever do that again!" she reprimanded. He hugged her back.

"I did it," he said warmly. "We saved these people."

Cheers rushed up through them all, and he realized that the whole population was there, some hundred people. Longshot and Smellerbee joined the two, sheepishly standing as the people cheered and laughed and celebrated.

"This calls for a festival!" the Chief shouted, to more cheers.

* * *

Kei, Song, Smellerbee, and Longshot all chose to stay for the night during the festivities. The four got a place of honor right in front of the campfire and next to the Chief, who they learned was Baas, and the female airbender, who was the medicine woman. Her name was Upepo.

The air was hot even in the night, and during all of the festivities and food, Kei forgot about the wound on his arm, and he made the mistake of taking off his armor. It didn't go unnoticed by Song.

"Kei! You're hurt!"

"It's nothing, really—," he tried to say.

"I don't want to hear it!" she scolded, and from there on Kei gave up, knowing that the natural healer inside of her was taking over. Upepo came over, noticing what they were doing, and the two were soon involved in a conversation about herbs and stubborn patients as they fussed over his wound.

* * *

**Author's Notes: I hope you guys liked this chapter. Even though I'm not getting as many reviews as I used to –cough—I'll still write at my normal pace :) Because I'm cool like that XD Nah, I'm just kidding.**

**I listened to "Maybe I'm a Lion," from Final Fantasy VIII, while writing this and it was awesome. Well, I listened during the second half of the chapter, lol. It suits the scenes well.**

**Anyway, please review!!**


	9. Brothers of the Sand

**Author's Note: I'm sorry, I really don't know why I got this chapter out so late. It might have to do with my growing obsession for Naruto, and the reading of some certain fanfictions... On top of that, schoolwork is getting increasingly annoying.**

**To those of you who've noticed, Krag shows how much I've been into Naruto. His attacks are heavily similar to those of Gaara XD**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 9: Brothers of the Sand_

Krag stared ahead, his eyes set grimly, as the sailers sped ahead to his village. Like he said to his brother, now was the time to set his plans into motion. Unfortunately for him, his fool of a father was too much of a peace-lover to be useful in the war.

That was why his village needed a new leader.

And Krag was perfect for the job.

The sand-sailers slid to a stop outside of the village, and Krag's gang jumped off, grinning and trying to hold in their excitement. Krag gave them permission to kill anybody that stood in their way. The strongest sandbender in the desert himself led the gang up to his father's house, so he could get the annoying pawn out of the way. As he calmly stepped up to the largest building of sand, two of his father's guards, wielding curved blades, stepped in front of the door.

"Move," Krag ordered in a dark undertone. They felt the killer intent radiating from him, and bared their swords.

"Stand back at once!" one of them shouted feebly, but a small motion from Krag had the men screaming as they spiraled deep into the ground. Many people stepped fearfully out of their houses at this, but Krag simply held up a hand and punched forward, destroying a whole wall of his own home. Chief Shaqi was there, evidently to head outside to see what the commotion was. His eyes widened upon seeing Krag, but then he calmed himself and did nothing.

"Fight me, you fool," Krag said to his father, a hint of anger in his voice.

"I will not fight my own son," he answered, staring him resolutely in the eye. Krag made a punching motion, and a fist of sand came from the ground and struck his father in the face. Shaqi winced from the blow, but went back to his previous position. "I knew this day would come. Your desire for power is consuming you."

"You _will _die, so stop babbling," Krag barked at his father. Sand snaked up his father's legs, binding his whole body in place. Just as he was about to clench his fist, to crush him completely, a blast of sand threw him and his gang off of their feet. Krag tumbled until he crashed into a sand dune on the border of the village.

Ghashiun jumped down into the village, his black bangs waving in the wind. He was about to incapacitate his brother with another attack, but the sand that covered him exploded outwards, destroying the rest of his house. Ghashiun avoided the attack by throwing up a wall of sand to protect him at the last moment. A piece of his own wall attacked him, sending him flying backward. The wall fell to the ground.

"You're a fool for crossing me. You'll die first," Krag growled, getting up from the pile of sand. "I'll make it as painful as possible."

* * *

"No! We're too late!" Katara yelled out. They had Appa fly as fast as possible to get to the center of the desert, but no less than a hundred sandbenders were fighting around the large rock, their sailers scattered around all over the place. Appa landed on top of the rock.

"What are we going to do?" Meng asked fearfully. Everybody else had the question on their minds, but unfortunately, all six of them were natural born leaders, and put the pressure on themselves to make a decision.

"You've got to get out of here Meng," Aang told her. "It's too dangerous."

She crossed her arms stubbornly. "I don't want to leave! I'm tired of being left behind. I want to fight!"

"But you can't," Azula said strictly.

"This is the price to pay for coming along with us," Jet said.

"Wait—do you guys feel that?" Toph asked. She knelt down, putting her hand to the ground. "The rock is vibrating!" Soon enough, each of them felt it strongly. The buzzard wasps flew out of their hive, agitated. Pieces of the giant rock began to break apart.

"Meng!" Aang shouted.

"I won't go!"

"You have to!" Jet yelled surprisingly. "I'll get her and bring her back—you guys are more useful anyway." He grabbed her before she could resist and pulled her up Appa's tail. Aang nodded to him. Jet grabbed Appa's reins and flew him and Meng away, leaving the others behind.

"Jet! Stop! We have to help them!" she protested, beating on his arm.

"We can't do anything to help right now, except for getting back to the village. We have to warn Shaqi, just in case Ghashiun didn't," he replied calmly, staring straight ahead.

* * *

"Let's take this fight out of the village," Ghashiun told his brother, straightening up from his stance.

"Why do that? This is the perfect battleground," he said with a smirk, gesturing all around him. This was a side of his personality he normally only showed to Ghashiun. It was unnerving.

"We might hurt someone," Ghashiun replied evenly. Krag burst out laughing.

"Who cares? Anyone foolish enough to get in our way deserves to die anyway," he answered. Ghashiun's eyes narrowed.

"Then I'll have to force you out of here!" he yelled, readying one of his complex moves. He spun, and then grasped the sand underneath and between the two. Sand spiraled from the ground, heading toward his brother, intending to strike him in the chest. With his arms folded, Krag summoned a sturdy wall of sand to block the attack. Ghashiun's stoic demeanor was betrayed by surprise. The force behind that attack should have been able to make it through that shield.

Ghashiun immediately followed up on the attack by raising his arms, lifting the sand underneath Krag. The attack was forced back by a wave of sand from his unmoving brother, which knocked Ghashiun to the ground.

"Done yet?" Krag asked. "Now it's our turn." The rest of Krag's gang jumped to the attack, some running toward him with daggers while others fired missiles of sand at him. Ghashiun's eyes were wide with fear as they came—he'd have no way to fight them all off...!

Strong winds suddenly pushed them all back, and it was only because Ghashiun was on the ground that he wasn't sent tumbling either. He looked up, and the Avatar's flying bison was there, with a young girl and an older boy on top. The boy jumped from the bison, his hook swords held in his hands, with his feet sailing toward one of Krag's gang members. Jet struck him in the face with his feet, twisting around and hitting another with the hilt of his sword.

"Need some help?" he asked Ghashiun with a grin. Meng, who now took Appa's reins, had Appa attack left and right with his tail, Momo sitting on her head chattering excitedly. Ghashiun nodded gratefully to the two, and stood up again to face his brother, who looked on in anger.

Several sandbenders surrounded Meng and Appa, who flew off outside of the village. The sandbenders immediately chased after them, trying to ground the bison by ensnaring his feet. They had to get him surrounded again, forming a circle around the creature.

"Hmm," Meng pondered, scratching her chin. "Appa, this seems like a great chance to try out that new move we practiced!" she said excitedly. The bison groaned in agreement, hovering just above the ground. "Ready!" she shouted, gripping the reins tightly.

Appa began to spin at high speeds, looking like a white blur to the sandbenders. They looked at him in confusion, until air shockwaves burst from the bison, knocking the circle of sandbenders back. When Appa stopped spinning, they were all unconscious. "Great job, Appa," Meng said, her face considerably green, but grinning in triumph nonetheless. Momo tried to stand up on her head but ended up falling off of her, extremely dizzy.

Jet swept out his leg, sending many of the sandbenders to the ground. Another that rushed at him with a dagger was quickly caught in the wrists by his two swords. Jet swung him around, hurling him at some more of the attackers. He was panting. How could they stand this heat?

Ghashiun faced off against his brother again, getting into a stance. He was enraged when Krag seemed almost bored. "Alright, time to end this. I've got other stuff to do," he said, and before Ghashiun could react a wave of sand threw him to the oasis in the middle of the village. He landed in the water with a splash, but immediately countered with a drill-like attack of mud, but with a simple wave of his hand Krag directed the attack elsewhere. Ghashiun clenched his fists. There was no way he could win, Krag easily outclassed him...

"_Mother? Will I ever be... as strong as brother?"_

"_Only if you work hard and never give up. Even if you can't, your strength is in your heart."_

Ghashiun shook his head. There was no way he could use his heart to win a battle... that was just stupid...

Jet rushed onto the scene, flying at Krag with a kick. He successfully knocked him back, but just as he was swinging his swords a blast of sand threw Jet away.

"You're a fool for interrupting this battle," Krag growled at him, standing up and brushing himself off. "There will be lots of blood tonight."

* * *

A quick air barrier blocked the sand attack sent at him, sending it flying in all directions. A man holding a spear lunged toward him, but Aang quickly dodged. Turning around, he lifted some sand to cut the spear in half.

"Aang, there's too many!" Katara shouted to him. She used streams of water to deflect most of her attacks, while Zuko was next to her with his broadswords out, using both them and blue fire to block as many attacks as he could. All around them, the sandbenders were fighting each other and the Avatar Gang, and nothing they could do was stopping them.

Aang and Azula were working together to protect an unconscious Toph, who was hit by a club-wielding sandbender that snuck up behind her. With all of the fighting going on around her and the "blurriness" of the sand, she was an easy target. Aang knew how she felt. He was having a hard time catching the ones attacking from behind.

"Don't you guys understand?" Aang desperately asked one of them, dodging yet another attack. "Krag is just controlling you guys!"

* * *

Krag immediately focused all of his attacks on Jet. The swordsman tried to block or dodge as many as he could, but the sand got past them. He was knocked to the ground, and Krag was readying yet another volley of attacks. Jet watched with fearful eyes as the gigantic missile of sand flew toward him, but another sand-colored figure jumped in front of him.

Ghashiun stood over Jet's body, holding his arms crossed in front of him, ready to face the attack head-on. He took the full force of the attack, digging his feet into the ground and turning his head away. Ghashiun forcefully spread his arms apart, splitting the sand missile in half.

"What are you doing?" Krag growled at him. "You're an idiot. Now you're just throwing your life away."

"You shut up, you big bully!" Meng shouted from atop Appa, flying straight toward him. "Get him, Appa!" The bison waved his tail, sending powerful winds that hit Krag dead-on, sending him flying over a sand dune that served as the village's border. "Follow up on it, Momo! Use that Air Drill move I showed you!"

The little lemur launched himself from Meng's head, going into a spinning whirlwind, his nose pointed straight at Krag. He reached speeds that made him seem like a furious tornado, striking Krag in the chest and sending him spinning through the air again. Meng punched a fist into the air victoriously.

"What the hell was that?" Krag asked, his eyes wide. Meng laughed.

"Since I can't do much fighting with the others, I've been helping these two with their fighting," she said, patting Appa on the head. "I've developed fighting techniques for Appa, and even did my research on lemurs! Momo and his friends actually _can _airbend a bit, so I've been helping him out too! Momo, attack!" she cried excitedly.

Momo flapped his wings, bringing up gusts of wind that did little except annoy Krag. By this time, Jet and Ghashiun caught up to them. "Foolish girl," Krag growled at her. "You've interfered too much." He waved his hand, bringing up a stream of sand that flew toward her. Before she could do anything, it pulled her toward Krag. Appa growled and stormed after him, but an erected wall blocked him and all of his strength.

"Appa!" Ghashiun yelled, as Krag began to cover the bison with sand completely. He unleashed another jet of sand at his brother, who had to throw away Meng to block the attack. She flew through the air, falling to the ground where she tumbled in the sand. She tried pushing herself up, but Ghashiun was distracted by another attack from his brother.

The younger sibling pulled up tendrils of sand from the ground, successfully grabbing Krag's arms with them. Krag did little to resist, instead using his advanced abilities to call up another sand mound. Ghashiun's eyes widened.

"You bastard!" Meng shouted, running after him. "I'll get you this time!" Her fist was pulled back, ready to punch him in the face, but the sand suddenly shifted its target, knocking her through the air where she landed in the sand yet again.

"You must be determined to die," Krag said darkly. Ghashiun's hold on the sand faded away, turning on its master. Krag turned to Meng, walking toward her slowly, ready to deal the finishing blow. He gathered a ball of sand in his palm, pulled it back, and then fired it at her like a missile. Her eyes were wide with fear.

Something burst from the ground in front of her, fist straight up in the air, punching away Krag's attack. Krag looked slightly surprised. Ghashiun stood over her, widening his stance. "You're _not _going to hurt her," he said.

"You're too weak to protect anyone," Krag taunted. "What makes you think you can?"

"_...your strength is in your heart..."_

"I have something important to fight for and protect!" he yelled, throwing a whirlwind of sand at his brother. He immediately followed up on the attack with another wave of his element. He jumped up, flipped, and kicked out his feet, attacking with pure force. The sand attacks pushed Krag back, but another pillar of sand sent him up in the air again. "Jet!" Ghashiun shouted.

"Got it!" The ex-Freedom Fighter jumped straight up in the air after him, grabbed Krag with his hooks, and slammed him into the ground. Sand was thrown up all around them, obscuring their view of each other. "Where is he?"

The sand cloud was suddenly pulled away, revealing Krag up in the air, flying on a platform of sand. "Perhaps you have gotten stronger," Krag mused, looking down at his younger brother. "But I have no time left to fight you. I have somewhere else important to be."

"What? That's it?" Ghashiun asked. "You're _not _leaving!" He attacked again with more tendrils of sand, but Krag held his palm out, blocking the attacks.

"I have better places to be than with desert trash," he said. "Farewell, brother."

"The Arcanum," Jet muttered under his breath as Krag flew away. "He's going to them."

"But he's abandoning his plan just like that?" Meng asked, standing up to join them. Jet kneeled down next to her.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she answered with a wave of her hand. "But why's he leaving?"

"The leader of the Arcanum must have something else for him to do," Jet said. "I'd guess he's a fairly high ranking member, like Xin Fu and Yu were. The leader offered him big cities if he was able to accomplish his task."

"But that's just it—he didn't accomplish his task," Ghashiun pointed out.

"What if we don't know the full extent of it? Anyway, we'll find out more once we get to Ba Sing Se," Jet said, standing up again. He whistled for Appa, and they all climbed on. "Let's see how Aang and the others are doing."

* * *

"We can't keep doing this," Zuko said to Aang. "We can't fight them all!"

"I guess I've got just one choice left," the Avatar replied. "Everyone, stand back!" When they backed up against the rock wall, Aang jumped up onto his Air Scooter, riding up the rock wall. Caught in a moment of déjà vu, he turned around, letting go of his Air Scooter and running down the length of the wall. He held his staff out and slammed it against the ground, the impact blasting air all around him, sparing only his friends from the attack. All of the sandbenders were sent flying to either side of him, their sailers becoming completely covered in sand. "Everyone, stop fighting!" he yelled. Finally, they were all able to hear him. "Don't you realize? Krag has been manipulating you all into fighting each other, disrupting the peace for the desert!"

"Aang, look!" Katara shouted, pointing up into the air. "It's Appa!" Aang and all of the sandbenders looked up, spotting three passengers on board—Jet, Meng, and Ghashiun. They all landed next to Aang.

"Krag's gone," Jet said. "He went back to the Arcanum."

"You stopped the fight?" Ghashiun asked, looking around.

"Not quite," said Aang, smiling sheepishly. The young sandbender stepped forward, addressing them all.

"Everyone, Krag is gone. He left you all to fight pointlessly while he moved on to do much more evil things. He wanted chaos for the people of the desert, so he could rise up during the confusion and take control. It's all he wanted from the beginning. He was using you all," Ghashiun stated, to the confused mutterings of the people. "I ask you to stop this fighting, and continue working toward the peace we've been fighting for this last year. Krag is gone, but more trouble can come to our desert at any moment. We have to stand united to face these troubles, and only then can we win!"

"Go Ghashiun!" one young sandbender yelled, and some others around him began chanting. It eventually erupted into an all-out cheer, during which Ghashiun was smiling and blushing the whole time, from what little they could see of his face.

"He's turning into quite the leader," Katara commented. "Kinda reminds me of someone I know," she said with a smile at Zuko.

"He has something to work for," the Fire Lord said simply. "Just like I do—the Fire Nation, the world, and you. It makes the job a lot easier."

She laughed, and threw her arms around him. "Oh Zuko, you're so sweet." He turned almost as red as Ghashiun.

"Thanks for the help," Aang said to Ghashiun.

"Couldn't have done it without ya," said Toph, punching him in the arm. She was conscious for a few minutes now, after being healed by Katara.

"Now what'll you do?" Jet asked him.

"Why don't you join us? We're headed to Ba Sing Se—Krag will be there," Aang offered.

Ghashiun seemed to think for a moment. "I don't think so," he finally answered. "My place is here. I need to help my father."

"Speaking of that," said Azula, approaching them. "We've got to get going—who knows how much time that puny village has? The Arcanum can send out troops at any moment, and we've wasted way too much time here."

Aang scratched the back of his head. "I guess you're right. Sorry to leave so soon, Ghashiun."

"Thanks for all of your help," he said sincerely. "You are welcome in this desert whenever you want."

Jet held out his hand to him. "Guess we'll seeya later then, friend."

Ghashiun grinned. "Yeah."

"Bye Ghashiun!" Meng waved from atop Appa.

"Bye Meng," he said with a laugh. All seven of the friends got on top of the bison, leaving Ghashiun to look after his people. He looked up into the red sky as they flew away.

_I've done it, Mother, _he thought with a smile. _They've helped me realize that I can't live in the past anymore._ He was still sad, but they taught him to move on with life. And if they were able to accomplish it, so could he.

_Goodbye, Mom._

* * *

After the long journey, Yanna was unable to fly all the way to the North Pole, so she started to swim through the water. For the passengers on her back, it was getting frigid. Shuang, on the other hand, was excited.

"So, who's never been to the Northern Water Tribe before?" he asked them. Malu, Jin, and Suki raised their hands. Haru's looked frozen to his sides from hugging himself for so long. His teeth were chattering and his cheeks were blue. "Alright, well, I'll show you guys the whole city when we get there!"

"Are you forgetting what we're here for?" Suki asked him. "We have to investigate the stuff that's going on here."

"We can do both at once," he said immediately. "Come on, loosen up."

"But we've got a mission," she said. She glanced at Sokka, who was somberly staring ahead, ignoring them all. That was when she remembered a wonderful night in the Serpent's Pass, the full moon shining bright. The Northern Water Tribe was where Princess Yue lived. Suki ignored Shuang's babbling and turned to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Sokka?"

He shook his head, turning to her with a smile. "Yeah?"

She almost brought up his abrupt change in mood, but decided against it. "You're thinking about her, aren't you?"

Sokka seemed horrified. "U-um, w-well, you see..."

She shushed him, smiling. "Don't worry, I'm not jealous or anything." He sighed with relief.

"Yeah, I know... I was just thinking about what Arnook would say," he said.

"Arnook?"

"The Chief, Yue's father," he answered.

"Got a good enough rest, Yanna?" Malu asked her bison. "Okay, let's fly for the home stretch!"

* * *

Within minutes, the six were right outside of the Palace. Many townspeople looked up at them with wonder, thinking the Avatar was on board. Arnook and some of his Elders came out to meet them.

"Sokka? Shuang? What a surprise," he said, greeting them all. "It's an honor to welcome six of the Champions to the Northern Water Tribe."

"Champions? I like the sound of that," Sokka said, crossing his arms with a grin.

"C-can we p-please go somewhere w-warm?" Haru asked, shaking in his boots. Malu and Jin seemed to have the same question on their minds.

"I'm sorry, pardon our lack of hospitality. It's just a surprise to see you all," Arnook said, bowing. He led them inside of the Palace, where he and the Elders took their customary seats in front of the waterfall.

"It's beautiful," Suki said, grasping Sokka's hand.

"Wow Shuang, you get to live here?" Jin asked, amazed.

"Can you tell us anything about the problems that have been going on here?" Sokka asked them.

"Oh, you mean the disappearances?" Arnook asked.

"Yeah," Shuang confirmed. "Did you find out anything else about them?"

"A little," he said. "We've sent out people to investigate, but we do know that there's an organization called the Arcanum behind it. People have been disappearing all over the city, and buildings are being destroyed all of the time. I don't know too much more, because I'm not part of the investigation."

"Who is?" Suki asked, looking at the other Elders.

"Hahn; you remember him of course, right Sokka?" Arnook asked. A scolding look seemed to be in his eyes that only Sokka seemed to understand.

"Yes," he grumbled.

"He's leading the investigation," one of the Elders said. "He should be back soon with a report."

"Hmm," Sokka said, scratching his chin. "Alright, I guess we'll have to wait."

"Alright!" Shuang exclaimed. "While we do, I'll give you guys the grand tour."

"Okay then, we'll be back for an update soon," Malu said to Arnook and the Elders, bowing respectfully. Shuang, Malu, Jin, and Haru walked out, while Suki trailed behind them. She glanced at Sokka, who nodded. The Elders began getting up to go their own separate ways. Only Sokka and Arnook remained.

"Excuse me sir, can I talk to you for a minute?" Sokka asked him. Arnook turned to him curiously.

"You do not need formalities with me, Sokka. You are a friend to the Northern Tribe."

Sokka took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for not being able to protect Yue." Arnook seemed surprised.

"That's in the past now, Sokka," he said, but the warrior could still see sadness in his eyes that made him look so much older.

"But I couldn't do anything, when I loved her and should have been able to," he said shakily. Arnook walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I know," he said wearily. "The way she looked at you... I knew she loved you too."

"And... you were okay with it?"

"Of course. After meeting you, I favored you over Hahn as a husband to my daughter."

A tear slowly dripped down Sokka's face.

"But we have to move on," Arnook continued. "That girl you were with—the Kyoshi Warrior... She loves you, too."

"Yeah," he said, wiping the tear away.

"You are going to marry her, aren't you? I saw her necklace," Arnook said. Sokka nodded. "Then may I make a suggestion...?"

* * *

Sokka walked down the Palace steps with a bounce in his step that wasn't there before. He almost stumbled when he saw Suki waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs, but quickly caught himself. He gave her a questioning look.

"I wanted to stay behind and wait for you," she said. "How'd it go?"

"Great," was all he said. The two were about to walk after Shuang and the others when another figure walked up to the Palace. When he came closer, Sokka narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, hey," the young man said, looking at both of them. He looked like a regular Water Tribesman. He walked with his chin jutted out proudly, scowling at people underneath him. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing Sokka. "Hey, Sokkla."

"The name's Sokka," he corrected him, growling.

"Yeah, whatever," he said, switching his gaze to Suki. "Who's this?" he asked, looking her up and down. Suki rolled her eyes.

"That's Suki, _my _fiancée," Sokka said, stepping in front of her. "What do you want, Hahn?"

The young man identified as Hahn looked suggestively at Suki for another moment, and then turned to Sokka again. "Just handing in my report to the Chief. Unlike you, I'm doing something important around here, instead of going around and being a lazy Champion. I bet you didn't even do anything to deserve that title, anyway."

"Why, you...!" Sokka growled, ready to pounce. Suki held him back.

"Sokka!" a deep voice yelled. The three turned to see Chief Arnook at the top of the stairs. Sokka stopped trying to rip Hahn's head off.

"Yes, sir?"

"Come up and listen to Hahn's report," he said. He nodded, and the three marched back up to the Palace. Sokka had to resist the urge to push him down. Once there, Arnook sat in his usual seat and Hahn saluted.

"We found out a little bit about the group called the 'Arcanum.' A lady in town said that they came around trying to recruit her, but she declined. They tried forcing her, but she and her daughter were able to fight most of them off and run. She said the majority of them were waterbenders with an unknown leader. Their plan is to somehow attack the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation."

Arnook almost jumped back in shock. "Attack the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation?!" Sokka and Suki glanced at each other. "That's not good at all. But how do they plan to do it? Do they have enough supporters?"

"I don't know sir," Hahn said. "That's all we learned for today."

"Alright, thank you Hahn. You are dismissed," Arnook said. Hahn bowed and left.

"Some stuff has been going on in the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, too. Do you think they're connected?" Sokka asked.

Arnook shook his head. "There's no way to find out, except wait and see what happens. I've had men patrolling the town at night, but they always seem to miss the vandalisms."

_The Arcanum... _Suki thought. _Who are they, and what do they want?_

* * *

"Okay, open your eyes," Sokka said to her. Suki's hazel eyes popped open, and she gasped at the sight. It was a small island of grass, in the middle of the North Pole, but then she realized that it was a lot warmer here. There was a small koi pond in the middle, and an arch with some vegetation behind it. The island was connected to the area around it by two bridges, with water running underneath them. There was a waterfall in back, completing the scene.

"This place is beautiful," she said. Another memory of Sokka's story came to her, and she looked down at the two koi in the pond, circling each other endlessly. One of those fish held the spirit of Princess Yue, the moon spirit. The young couple walked underneath the arch, Suki looking all around them in wonder. "I think I could live here forever."

"It's the most spiritual area in the whole North Pole," Sokka explained. "This is where a portal to the Spirit World is." Suki knelt down next to the pond, enjoying the view of the almost-tropical area. "Suki... do you want to get married here?"

She turned to him, surprised, as he sat down next to her. "Sokka, I'd love to!" He grinned. During the past year, the two had to constantly put off the marriage, because they were so busy. Now was their chance, after waiting so long. He kissed her, and the two felt happier than they had in a long time.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Again, I'm sorry for the wait, but this chapter was kind of hard to write, and added to my excuses above, I haven't really been able to. You know, I've noticed that every chapter I'm excited to write turns out badly -.- Sorry it couldn't be better, but I tried.**

**Next chapter: Sokka and Suki's wedding. Please review!**


	10. The Wedding

**Author's Notes: Woot! As of this chapter, we're halfway through the story! I told you guys this one would be a lot shorter.**

**I hope I did the wedding okay... I've never done that before. Anyway, once you finish the chapter please read the author's note at the bottom.**

**Speaking of the wedding, I know most of you won't like that most of his family and friends are missing, but there are reasons, most of which start off the chapter. The other is that a lot of people run off and get married too, so I figured it is reasonable.**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 10: The Wedding_

Sokka looked over himself in the mirror, and he couldn't help but let out a small sigh. He was getting married _today_, one day after they arrived in the Northern Water Tribe. He was excited. He was happy. He wanted to do what he couldn't for a whole year. He was finally going to marry Suki.

But at the same time, he was beginning to regret the decision. His family wasn't there. Katara, Aang, Toph, Gran-Gran, and his own father were missing from his wedding. He knew that once Katara found out, she'd beat him within an inch of his life. But damnit, he and Suki were waiting so long for this! For once, Sokka wanted to be able to do what _he _wanted. He knew they'd understand. Besides, if they had to, Sokka wouldn't mind being married again, with his family all around him. All that mattered was that Suki was there. And having their wedding in front of the oasis would allow Yue to see them, too.

As he looked over his suit, he was glad that Arnook let him borrow some customary wedding clothes. It was a neat blue tunic, nice and fluffy around the neck and cuffs, and a crescent moon symbol on his chest. It was customary to have his sword sheathed at his side. At that moment, Shuang walked in and whistled.

"Lookin' good, Sokka," he said, arms crossed. He was also dressed in cleaner, more distinguished clothes. Behind him came Haru, wrapped in a thick coat, and Malu, the same as ever.

"What're you doing here?" he asked her, surprised. "Aren't the girls not allowed to see the guys until later?"

"That's the bride, silly," she waved her hand. "Anyway, you look pretty decent for once, Sokka."

"Oh, thanks," he said sarcastically. "How's Suki?"

"She's fine. Jin's helping her out," the airbender answered. "So... aren't you nervous?"

"I've had too much on my mind to be nervous," he admitted. "But yeah, I guess I am."

"I'd expect you to be bumbling around, dropping everything and messing stuff up by now," Shuang snickered. "I guess you've finally matured a little bit."

They heard footsteps again, and this time Hahn sauntered into the room. He looked over them all, finally glaring at Sokka. "You better hurry up. Arnook told me that they're starting soon."

Sokka nodded, feeling nervousness truly beginning to grow in the pit of his stomach, now that Malu mentioned it. Upon seeing Hahn, he thought about the Arcanum, but he pushed it to the back of his mind, focusing on better, happier things.

* * *

The warrior fidgeted nervously on the small island of grass in the middle of the oasis, pulling at the collar of his tunic and looking all around him. A fair portion of the city was gathered all around the island, excited to see a wedding of two of the great Champions. Sokka, Arnook, Shuang, Haru, and Malu stood under the archway, as the koi fish continued to circle endlessly. The whispered chatter of the people around them began to annoy Sokka as they talked about how handsome he looked. He focused on the two fish, slowly becoming mesmerized as the sounds died around him.

_Yue..._

Sudden gasps from the people around them startled Sokka, pulling him from his gaze on the fish. He brought his hand to the hilt of his sword reflexively, but immediately relaxed when he saw Suki walking across the bridge in front of him, a gentle smile on her face. Sokka nearly gaped, and all sounds were lost from him again. He registered nothing going on around them, looking into her deep, endless eyes that caught the sunlight in just the right way. She wasn't wearing her makeup, giving her face a softer look. She was in a beautiful Water Tribe dress, and his heart skipped when he realized it was the one Yue normally wore. Her hair was loose, falling around her face, and then he saw the whirling water all around her, going over the bridge and dancing in between the two of them, courtesy of the waterbenders. He didn't even realize when she crossed the distance between them, standing right in front of him.

Arnook put his arms up, as if welcoming them all to the oasis. "We are gathered here today to witness the union of two powerful spirits, Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe and Suki of Kyoshi. They have fought through thick and thin together, saved each other's lives, and went to all ends of the world with each other. Their love is as boundless as their travels, deeper than the deepest ocean.

Sokka, do you vow to fight for your love, protect her, and walk with her through all of her troubles?"

"I do," he answered, surprising himself with the strength in his voice.

"Suki, do you vow to love him, stay by his side, and obe—," his voice trailed off when Suki suddenly glared at him, and he gulped. "Suki, do you vow to fight for your love, protect him, and walk with him through all of his troubles?"

"I do," she said warmly, turning to Sokka again with her smile.

Arnook looked at Sokka. "Then you may kiss the bride," he said, smiling along with them. The Water Tribe warrior pulled her into his arms, pressing his lips against hers, as the weight in the pit of his stomach dissipated and was replaced by happiness that wanted to carry him away. Despite the absence of his mother, sister, father, and best friends, he was the happiest he had ever been in his life. He was surprised. Water Tribe weddings were usually short, but it felt very quick to him.

When they finally pulled away from each other, smiling again, Sokka glanced at the koi pond, and oddly not surprised to see an ethereal figure standing on the surface. He would recognize the flowing dress anywhere, the shining white hair, the cerulean eyes... It was Yue. Suki followed his gaze, and let out a small gasp upon seeing her.

"She's beautiful," she whispered. Yue was smiling at them, her hair and clothes floating around her as if she was in the water. The two were the only ones that were able to see her, and nobody else noticed the couple's attention on the koi pond. Yue faded away.

And then the walls of ice around them exploded.

Shards of frost shattered out towards them and all of the guests. People in the crowd screamed, running in all directions. Waterbenders rose to fight the threat, but nobody was prepared for what was happening. The attackers wielded water. Every single one of them was of the Water Tribe, wearing masks to cover their faces. Some were waterbenders, and some weren't. Streams of water sliced at Arnook's men, cutting them down. Frantic healers dashed around, gathering their senses quickly and healing the fallen.

Sokka's first action was to draw his sword and jump in front of Suki, protecting her from any attackers. A man ran up to the two of them with a spear, yelling loudly. Sokka was about to cut the shaft when Suki jumped in front of him, her fans extended, deflecting the man's attack and kicking him down. She spun around, immediately parrying another attack, her blue dress twirling all around her.

"What are you doing, Sokka?" she asked him urgently. He shook his head, allowing a small smile, as he fought by her side cutting down their foes.

"Chief Arnook, get out of here!" Hahn, who now rose up to fight with them, yelled. The Chief looked reluctant. "It isn't safe! They might be after you!"

Arnook retrieved a spear of one of the fallen attackers, swinging it and getting into a stance. "No, I've still got some fight left in me!" The warrior nodded, hefting his own spear as he rammed it into another attacker.

"Haru! Jin!" Sokka called to his friends. The confused earthbender was standing there, helpless. Sokka knew he wouldn't want to destroy such a spiritual place with his earthbending, even though it was the only rock in the whole North Pole. The earthbender turned to him, awaiting an order, as did Jin, who was weaponless. "Go help the townspeople get out of here!" They nodded, running off to try and regain order as everyone tried hurrying through the small hatch that led back into the city.

A huge gout of water rose from the moat around the island, turning to ice as it fell toward the enemy. Shuang manipulated the water, striking down several of the foes. From an unseen attacker, streams of water stretched from the moat, splitting the group right through the middle and pushing them in different directions. Hahn and Sokka were cut off from everyone else. As he tumbled, Sokka only thought of Suki. _No! I have to get to her!_

He tried rushing over, but the streams of water rose up, hitting him in the chest and sending him away. He rose weakly, the wind knocked out of him. He glanced over at his wife, who was completely surrounded by Malu, Shuang, and Arnook. He felt a wave of relief. She was safe, for now. Sokka turned to his unlikely ally, Hahn, as the two rose to meet the waterbender that seemed to want to keep them away from his friends.

It was a girl. She rose from under the water, standing right on top of it without falling through. Sokka's eyes widened. He wasn't even sure if _Katara _could do that. Thinking of his sister, he noticed that the two looked slightly similar—the girl had smooth brown hair, tanned skin, and eyes as blue as Katara's. She wore clothing that was also remarkably similar to his sister's, but hers were as dark as the other citizens of the Northern Water Tribe. Her nose and mouth were covered by the mask.

"Get out of my way!" Sokka shouted to her, rushing up to the girl with his sword. He jumped over the water, flying right toward her with his sword held behind him, ready to strike, but with a wave of her arm more streams of water smacked him out of the air. He hit the side of the moat, and fell into the water.

Hahn ran toward her next, a little more controlled this time, his spear held out in front of him. He jumped back at her first strike of water, but needles of ice rose from the moat and flew at him at speeds he was unable to dodge. Some sliced his clothes while others lodged into his skin. He fell to his knees, a hand held over a wound on his arm. She lifted more needles out of the water, ready to deal the finishing blow, when Sokka stepped in front of him, his sword held out.

"Don't you dare hurt him," he said threateningly. The corners of her mouth smirked, and the needles rose toward him anyway. The warrior was ready, parrying and dodging every single one. His meteorite sword flew with practiced ease, striking every single piece of ice out of the air. When the barrage stopped, one of her eyebrows rose.

"Interesting, but you won't last forever!" she taunted. Both of her arms lifted up into the air, bringing up huge fountains of water that united over her head and flew at Sokka. The warrior rolled forward inside of the attack, but his breath caught in his throat. He forgot something important. The attack was meant for Hahn!

Sokka looked back worriedly, but the other warrior was gone. Sokka growled, lifting his black sword to run at the waterbender again. As she was about to strike him again, a blue figure flew at her from the side with a spear held, causing her to jump back or be impaled. When Hahn missed, he reached out with his hand to punch her, but she pulled her head away just in time, and his fingers were just able to reach her mask. He pulled it off.

The girl, who was rather pretty, Sokka noticed, snarled at him, but the snarl made him instantly take back his thoughts. Water pumped toward Hahn, who still had ice sticking out of him, but the warrior back flipped out of the way, spear held forward in defense.

"Sirena?!" he exclaimed, confused. Sokka stared at the warrior that he hated, and had to admit to himself that he had gotten a lot better at fighting.

"Who's she?" Sokka asked him.

"She used to be a friend of mine, and she was also one of the ones to disappear," Hahn said deeply, crouching into a stance. "So you and your friends are behind this?"

"Wait a minute; is she part of the Arcanum?" Sokka asked, looking at the girl with anger. The disappearing people must have been the ones who joined up with the Arcanum, and the destroyed houses were their own acts of vandalism. Water rushed up all around the girl identified as Sirena, whose eyes turned startlingly black.

"I'm not just a member, I'm one of the higher-ups, dumbass," the girl said darkly. "The strong ones get those kinds of bonuses. Anyway, it doesn't matter who I am to you guys now, because I'll end you."

"Why do you want to kill us?" Sokka asked, desperate for information.

"Orders, from the leader himself, sorry!" she said with a smirk, as the tendrils of water lashed out at him, the tips turning to ice. Sokka jumped back, but the water moved toward him. He narrowed his eyes. It was an interesting technique, giving her the full maneuverability of water while also giving it the deadly trait of sharp ice. The iced tips lashed out at him like a snake, and even trying to slice at the water with his sword didn't work, because the skilled waterbender mended it immediately. A second identical tendril of water began to do the same to Hahn, trapping them both. Sokka's neat clothes were cut in several places, and he knew Hahn wasn't faring well, either. They could only keep this up for so long, until the predator Sirena finally got them...

Waves of water from all around the moat suddenly struck out at the girl, accurately hitting her. Shuang stepped up behind her, readying another attack. "I remember that girl—I never liked her, she was part of Hahn's gang."

"Good to see you, Shu," Sokka said to him, holding his sword out.

While she was in midair, Sirena sent out shards of ice to the three Water Tribesmen, which were all blocked, but it was only a distraction for her real attack. Two jets of water rose from the sides of the island, heading toward Sokka and Hahn, but Shuang jumped into the middle, redirecting them into a circle around him and firing the new, stronger water blast at the girl. Her black eyes widened, but she parted it with her hands.

"You're a pretty strong bender," the girl complimented, with a smirk that reminded Sokka strongly of Azula. Her obsidian eyes narrowed at them. "There is a very little known fact about waterbending, you know. Firebending and waterbending are actually remarkably similar. While some think that firebending is powered by anger, you couldn't be more wrong," she informed them, growing excited. "Waterbending is directly tied to the emotional state, but when _waterbending _is powered by anger, your powers drastically increase, but control is lost. But I... _I _have absolute control over my emotions and _I've_ mastered that dangerous ability. Now's your chance to see it in action! I'll kick all of your asses!"

The water around them frothed in anger, and swirls of water danced in front of the girl. Sokka and Shuang braced themselves, but Hahn rushed forward, yelling, with his spear held out in front of him. Sirena smirked and clapped her hands together, calling up streams on all sides of her, causing an explosion of water in the middle. The attack was about to meet Hahn, whose face slowly turned to one of fear, but Shuang was there in front of him, holding an arm out to meet the attack. The water moved all around them, protecting the two. Shuang breathed out a sigh of relief, until he heard Sokka's shout of pain. While he blocked the attack, Sokka could not. He cursed for not thinking ahead properly.

"One down, two to go," Sirena said, smiling evilly at the two.

"I won't go down so easily, you know! I was trained by Master Katara!" Shuang yelled, anger bubbling within him. Water from her sides blasted at the girl, but her own streams crashed against the attack. The water circled around her, and then she appeared on a water snake, towering over them all.

"I'm not done yet!" Sokka suddenly shouted, throwing his boomerang from where he was on the ground. The weapon whistled through the air, successfully thunking her on the head. She recoiled from the attack, and glared down at Sokka as it returned to him. He smirked, meeting her challenge. Water rose above her, straightening out into a long lance and freezing. It fell into her hands, and she smirked, as if already sensing her own victory. She hurled it, determined to impale the immobilized Sokka. He looked at it in fear as it seemed to fly toward him in slow motion... he could do nothing to stop it...

And then, time sped up as Hahn was there, deflecting the projectile away with his own spear. Sokka looked at him in shock as Shuang was busy combating the water that was constantly protecting her. He motioned forward with his arms, directly attacking her water snake. She looked down in surprise as his attack affected her balance on the pillar of water, but it started speeding furiously as Shuang gained control. He lifted her water snake from the ground, the bottom of it expanding to cover her at the top. She was totally lost from their view until the orb of water spat her out, sending her flying up into the air, yelling curses at them. She landed near the top of the ice wall, latching onto the sides.

"You bastards! I'm not done with you yet!" she shouted, digging her hands into the ice and pulling them out with fury, as hundreds of ice shards flew at the three of them. Sokka wondered how they'd get out of this one when Shuang summoned up the remaining water all around them, coalescing into a shield of ice that blocked every single shard. When her barrage was over and he took away the shield, Sirena was gone. She had disappeared into the icy tundra beyond.

"She was nuts," Hahn said, breaking the silence. The other two burst out into laughter.

"Hahn! Sokka! Shuang!" Arnook ran over to them, with Suki and Malu not far behind, all seemingly unharmed. Sirena's waterbenders were being bound. Everything was over. "Thank the spirits you're all right. That girl that you got rid of was apparently the leader of the gang in our city. Now that she's gone, everything will be fine, we expect."

"She wasn't just part of any gang—she was a higher member of the Arcanum," Sokka told them, staring at his wife. "We don't know much about them, but apparently the higher-ups are all strong fighters. How far do they reach? Where else have they planted their roots?"

"We'll have to check out the Southern Water Tribe next," Malu contributed. "Hopefully they haven't gotten there yet." Hahn, Sokka, and Shuang seemed battered, and the others just noticed their bleeding. "Ahh! Someone call some of the Healers!"

"It's not that bad," Hahn said, flexing his arms. "We'll be fine."

"No you won't," Healer Yugoda came over to them, scolding. "Hold still, the three of you." Sokka watched Hahn as Yugoda turned the ice shards imbedded into him back into water, pulling them out easily. Hahn apparently wasn't as obnoxious as Sokka once thought. He had saved his life. Sokka held out a hand to him.

"Thanks, Hahn," he said. Hahn nodded and grinned, shaking his hand.

"No problem, _Sokka_." The two laughed, the others looking at them in confusion.

"_Anyway_," Shuang started, as Yugoda began healing their wounds, "Sirena probably won't be coming back, since she doesn't have any followers anymore. I'd say to go follow her, but that might not be necessary. She's no longer a threat."

"What, she's just planning to die out there?" Suki asked, looking upward. "She might just have somewhere to go." Sokka, Shuang, and Hahn shrugged. Suki and Malu rolled their eyes.

"If she comes back, we'll be ready for her," Arnook said.

"He-ey!" Jin shouted, running after them in her normal clothes, katana blazing. "Did we miss the fighting?"

"Looks like it," Haru sighed, forlornly glancing at the two pebbles in his fingers. "I had to go and gather all the mud off all our old boots, too..."

Everyone laughed at the expression on Haru's face, and the poor earthbender couldn't resist and chuckled along with them.

* * *

"Teo, do you hear all that noise outside?" On Ji asked the boy, trying feebly to look out the barred window.

"Yeah, sounds like explosions!"

"Do you think they've come to rescue us?" she asked him, giving up on her efforts and kneeling down at his side. Teo gripped her hand. They were each other's only source of comfort in the dark, dank cell.

"I hope so."

* * *

After Teo and On Ji were kidnapped, the four of them didn't just simply do nothing. The first thing they did was go back to Sozin City. Luckily, this was the right choice, because the Blaze Brigade and the Fire Sages heard reports of rogue bands of earthbenders running throughout the country. And based on these reports, they were able to pinpoint their location. With the help of the Brigade, they were ready for their rescue mission.

Nodoka, Mai, Keioushi, Ty Lee, and a few dozen Blaze Brigade agents marched on Old Azulon, site of the only known headquarters of the Arcanum. While they were off searching for clues, the Blaze Brigade was able to interrogate the assassin for information on the numerous rebel groups in the Fire Nation, and they learned the group's name and what they did.

But worst of all, they figured out that the Arcanum had members all over the _world_. The small problem had escalated into one huge crisis, and they needed to be stopped immediately. In the worst case scenario, war would break out between the four Nations with the problems they were causing.

Once they came to the rebuilding city, they all split up among the buildings, sneaking over to the main headquarters. The assassin had spilled nearly everything to them, except for some of the most crucial information—who were their leaders, where were they, and what was their goal? The Combustion Man had hired her, and from the small amount of time spent in the Arcanum, she told them of the rebel group's huge numbers. With all of their people, they could essentially become a fifth Nation. Apparently, she played both sides, not caring who won in the end.

Once the building—a run-down mansion—was surrounded, a group of them were about to burst through the front doors when a large portion of the wall exploded outwards at them. Nodoka and the others got into a stance, expecting more attacks, as the Brigadiers got out of the way. Earthbenders stormed out of the mansion, shooting rocks in all directions. _Damnit, they were expecting an attack, _Nodoka thought furiously, rushing into the battle. The other three followed after him, running through a gap in the earthbenders' forces and cutting down anyone that followed them. They looked for anything that would bring them to the cellar or basement of any kind. After a few minutes of searching, they found a stone spiral staircase.

"You sure this is the right way?" Mai asked, her face showing only complete calmness.

"It has to be," Nodoka replied. "Where would else would they keep the two of them? That girl's a firebender." Explosions from outside shook the foundations of the mansion. If they weren't fast, the whole building would collapse on top of them. "Let's go."

Ty Lee nodded determinedly, while the brawler headed down first. The acrobat immediately followed him, and then Mai, with Nodoka taking up the rear.

"Hah! Too easy!" Ty Lee boasted as soon as they came to a stop. "Hey! You give them back to us!" Nodoka looked over Mai's head. The four came to a rectangular room, with four different cells. Teo and the girl were inside of them, somewhere. Four guards were stationed there.

Three of them pulled blocks of stone from the ground, launching them at the four kids. Ty Lee dodged, Keioushi blocked with his arms, and Mai jumped out of the way, retaliating by throwing darts at the earthbenders. Ty Lee front flipped over to one of the benders, jabbing him in the arms and legs with her fingers, disabling him. Keioushi knocked the second out with one punch, while Mai threw enough knives and darts into the other man's arms to probably permanently disable him. They all yelled out in pain before falling.

"You're not supposed to be down here!" the fourth man yelled, dashing toward Nodoka with a spear. The silver-haired warrior simply hit him aside with his own spear, then turned around and hit him in the head with the butt of his weapon. He fell along with the others.

"This is almost too easy," Mai muttered. "Where's the Combustion Man?"

"Who cares?" Keioushi said, shrugging. "Teo, other girl! Are you guys here?" he called.

"Keioushi!" Teo shouted from inside one of the cells. "We're in here!" Ty Lee took a set of keys from one of the fallen benders, and after some fumbling, unlocked his cell. Another explosion caused dust to fall from the ceiling. Teo rolled outside, cheering in relief, as the girl stood behind him meekly. "Guys, this is On Ji. On Ji, that's Ty Lee, Mai, Keioushi, and Nodoka."

"It is an honor," she said, bowing respectfully.

"Nice to meet'cha!" Ty Lee said, giving her a thumbs up. "Now, I bet you guys wanna see some sunlight. Let's get out of here."

"Be careful. It's like a war zone out there," Nodoka warned.

* * *

By the time they got outside, the fighting stopped, and most of the earthbenders were down and tied up. Most of the Blaze Brigade went around, keeping the townspeople away and assessing the damage.

"Captain," Mai said, approaching one of the firebenders. "Bring these back to the capital. They must be interrogated. Also, bring these two back with you," she gestured to Teo and On Ji. "The girl needs to go back to her home."

"What? No!" Teo immediately protested. "We want to stay with you guys and help."

"This has become much more dangerous than we previously thought," Mai said strictly. Nodoka raised an eyebrow. "You were already kidnapped. We can't put you in any more danger."

"We'll be fine," Teo assured her. "I don't want to go back to doing nothing!"

"Teo, it's okay—," On Ji tried to comfort him.

"You said yourself that you want to do something to help," Teo said, turning to her.

"Let them come," Nodoka said, surprising them all. "He is aware of the dangers. Teo is a smart boy. If he wants to stay, he has to be prepared for it."

"Yes, sir!" Teo saluted, grinning.

"Hey, look!" Ty Lee suddenly said, shielding her eyes as she looked at the sky. "I see another Appa!"

"That's not Appa," Mai said. "It's just another bison."

"'Just another bison?'" Teo asked incredulously. "You don't just see them everyday."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. Who cares?" Keioushi said, shrugging. Still, they all looked at it as it flew to the northwest.

"Anyway, what's next?" Teo asked.

"We still have to find out about the Arcanum," Nodoka answered. "We'll continue to travel around and look for information."

"How boring," Ty Lee groaned. "I was expecting a happy, exciting ending to this."

* * *

**Author's Notes: -phew- I was almost grounded from the computer for a while, which would mean no updates, but I got out of it. Anyway, next chapter is the arrival of another minor character! See if you can guess who it is!**

**I've got a question for you guys. I'm thinking about starting another story along with this one that'll definitely be an AU. I don't know if it was done before, but it'll be about something happening to Aang that will land him in an alternate dimension (I know it sounds dumb right about now, but I have big plans for this.) He'll wake up to see... Azula! It'll be a complete retelling of his adventures, as if the Water Tribe ruled the world and he traveled around with Zuko and Azula. There will be some character changes and role reversing, but I think it'll be a pretty interesting idea. Very few people will be out of character.**

**But your choice is this: Will Aang try to change things around this time or speed things up, or will he go along with everything from the show? The pairings are so far undecided, but there might be a little bit of everything. I think it'll be interesting. But don't worry! It won't affect the updates for this story. I plan to update that a lot less, but have longer, more detailed chapters.**

**Anyway, tell me what you think, about that and this chapter. Please review!!**

**Oh, and one more thing. I don't own Sirena, she belongs to Tefnut Talvi. Sirena's the main character in her story, "Fire and Water." Go check it out. It's pretty good :) Sorry I made her into a bad guy though! XD She's pretty cool, right?**


	11. Misfortune

**Author's Notes: I'm glad that most of you liked Sirena and the idea for my AU :) By the way, it's up now, so if you want to read it, it's there.**

**This chapter answers a question that's been plaguing most of you since the earlier chapters XD**

**Quite a bit goes on in this chapter, but it's not one of my favorites. Also, there will be the largest Naruto reference yet—you'll definitely know it if you're a fan, so I do not own it.**

**Anonymous Review Responses:**

**candadiarocks: Well, maybe if they were longer :)**

**PenguinPuu25: Yeah, that one was pretty long, but I meant it to be. I want to portray Sirena and Krag as pretty strong benders. Heh, sorry about that smirk. It's the type of mask that the waterbender soldiers in the North Pole wear. Also, now that I think about it, it's a lot like Kakashi's mask. Yes, he's from **_**Naruto**_**, but it wasn't on purpose! I swear! Anyway, you could see someone smiling if they had a mask like that. Also, Nodoka didn't say it so childishly like that XD He was just pointing out the facts. Sorry if I portrayed it like that. Also, about Meng, she kind of has no one in the group, especially when they're all off fighting. She's with Appa most of the time, taking care of him and Momo when everyone else is gone. She wants to be useful, so she trained him to fight better. I guess it's a bit weird, so I'm sorry if you don't like it :) That was about the extent of their abilities, though. Oh! I'm adding to this—I got Avatar: The Burning Earth videogame for Christmas (ha ha!) and Momo IS a playable character—he fights just like everyone else. Odd, I know, but his attacks do have airbending in them. His special attack is a giant tornado. Yupp.**

**Bonnie: I can't write a whole book by myself XD I've already said this, but I don't think I'm creative enough. As of now, I'm content in the realm of fanfiction :) Thank you for the vote of confidence though :D**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 11: Misfortune_

"I cannot _believe _our luck!" Jet groaned, his stomach rumbling. "Where can we get food?"

"You're starting to sound like Sokka," Katara said, her brow furrowing at him.

"I can't blame him," Toph admitted, her own stomach growling in protest. "We haven't had anything besides nuts in a day or two."

"Well, we weren't counting on running low on supplies," Katara said, stirring their nut soup.

"It was that damned storm," Azula grumbled, kicking a rock. "Not only did it drive us off course, it made Appa sick. And now we have to go out of our way even further for supplies. It sucks."

"We're going to have to live with it," Aang said with a frown, patting the bison on the stomach. It had been two weeks since they left the desert, and if it wasn't for the storm, they would have been in Ba Sing Se long before. "Until we find a village where we can get supplies..."

"I know of one," Zuko said quietly, staring off to the south. "I've been there before."

"You've been everywhere in your banishment," Azula said under her breath.

"How far is it?" Katara asked him, ignoring Azula.

"A day," he answered. Her brow furrowed again, this time in concern. He spoke less when he was stressed about something. What happened here? He caught her eyes, but shook his head, knowing what she was thinking.

"I guess we should go, then," Jet said. "There's not much else we can do."

"What about that village? We were already blown off course—what'll happen to them? What if we're too late?" Meng asked desperately. "I don't think we should abandon them so soon."

"We're not abandoning them," Aang corrected her. "We just... can't right now."

* * *

Appa landed a little ways away from the village, a little wooden one with small farmer's fields on the far outskirts. It was a pretty lively town with dirt roads and shops, with people bustling about. The seven entered it, walking to it from the north. Nobody paid them any notice, thinking of them as regular travelers as they walked through the streets. Katara watched as Zuko seemed so detached from everything, an unsettling contrast to him being constantly on guard.

"Hey, I'm going to take a look around, okay?" Meng asked Katara. She nodded absently as the little girl ran off.

Meng looked around at all of the things on display, coming to a stand with pearl necklaces and jewelry of the Earth Kingdom. She admired them for a moment as the large muscled man at the counter smiled as she appreciated them, and then he turned away, bending down to lift some boxes. Suddenly, two boys, both younger than her, popped up out of nowhere and snatched a handful of necklaces away, then ran for their lives. Meng stood dumbfounded, just as the man turned back.

"Hey, where'd that jewelry go?" he asked her, staring at her suspiciously.

"I-I didn't do anything!" she said, waving her hands in front of her.

"You know, I don' like filthy little liars," he growled, picking up a sharp knife. "Thieves deserve to get their hands cut off!"

"No! I didn't do anything!" she tried to tell him, but his knife struck the wood in front of her. She ran down the street in fear. She pushed through the crowd, not wanting to lose any of her hands. She turned down one of the side alleys, but hit something hard.

"Ow!" she yelled, falling to the ground. She nearly jumped when someone _else _said the same thing. She opened her eyes and rubbed her head in pain, while the other person was groaning.

"Hey, watch where you're going," he said, poking his out bottom lip. She looked up at him. It was a young boy, maybe around her age, with messy brown hair, a small hat, and... _big ears_.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered. "It won't happen again," she nervously pressed the tips of her fingers together, feeling the heat rise to her face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, bending down slightly to look at her face. "It's not that hot out anymore. You're sweating."

"Oh, um... I was just running from this guy who thought I stole something," she confessed, looking around the corner and staring down the street. "He threatened to cut off my hands."

The boy scratched his head sheepishly. "Oh, sorry about that. Two of my friends were planning to steal stuff from that guy. Guess you got blamed. Anyway, I'm Lee, what's your name?"

"Meng," she smiled.

"That's some pretty cool hair," he said, pointing at her head. She blushed, but didn't notice when he did too. She looked up when she felt weight on her head, and she smiled when she saw Momo.

"Hello," she said up to him. He chattered to her in response. Lee jumped back in shock.

"What is that thing?!"

"Oh, it's just Momo. My friends are probably looking for me," she said, shrugging. "Wanna come meet them?"

"Uh... Sure," he said, smiling at her. He held out a finger to Momo, wiggling it in his face. He jumped back when the lemur bit him. "Ow! He bit me!"

"Momo!" Meng reprimanded the lemur, waving her arms frantically and comically at him. The lemur chittered at her angrily, and flew off. She turned her attention to Lee, who was sucking on his finger. "Here, let me see." She put her hands on his. "You'll be okay. Momo isn't poisonous or anything."

"Okay, well, it didn't hurt that much," he said, as if trying to preserve his manliness. He stared at his hand clasped in hers, and both pulled away quickly as if burned. They both stood their awkwardly for a moment. "Well... can I meet your friends now?" Lee asked her.

"Oh yeah! Sure," she said, hurriedly dashing off and hiding another blush. She led him down the road to where she left them before, seeing Momo swoop around Aang angrily before landing on his staff.

"What's wrong, Momo? Did you find Meng?" Aang asked him.

"Yeah, I'm right here," she answered for him, coming to a stop in front of the Avatar. "Everyone, this is Lee." She gestured to the boy, who scratched the back of his head, grinning up at them. "Lee, this is Aang, Jet, Toph, Katara, Azula, and Zuko." Lee's eyes passed over the odd bunch as Meng introduced them, finally ending at Zuko.

His breath caught in his throat. That scar... Those swords... Memories flooded through his mind, bad ones that he wanted to forget. He saw him again, shrouded in fire, announcing to the village his true identity. _Prince _Zuko, of the Fire Nation, son of the Fire Lord and his wife. It was this man that was the reason for the war, the war that had taken his brother and had nearly taken his father. The golden eyes of the Prince stared at him emotionlessly.

Lee yelled as loud as he could, pushing aside Meng and some of her other friends as he tried to get to Zuko, to punch him, to stab him, to make him _pay _for taking his brother away! He held out the knife that Zuko had given him, ready to plunge it through his chest. He held his arm forward, ready to do it, but the agile firebender jumped out of the way.

"What are you doing?" Meng cried out. Everyone else stood in stances, not knowing what to expect from the boy.

"Stop!" Aang called out, as Lee kept attempting to hack at the Fire Lord. Most of the villagers were around them now, wondering what was going on.

"I hate you, I hate you! Get out of here!" Lee yelled. "You killed my brother!"

Now Katara stepped in, anger on her face. "Zuko hasn't killed anyone!" But Lee was controlled only by rage now, and he wasn't about to give up. He nearly harmed the waterbender with his knife, but Aang covered his whole lower body in stone.

"Let me go!" Lee shouted, struggling. Aang jumped in front of him.

"Why are you attacking Zuko?" he asked.

"He's a firebender, the Prince of the Fire Nation!" the boy wailed. "They took my brother away," he added, his voice much lower. Most of the crowd muttered to each other in fear. Apparently, Zuko was known throughout the town.

"I'm a firebender too," Aang said to him, a red flame lighting up in his palm. Lee's eyes widened.

"Lee!" a woman shouted, pushing through the mob of people to get to them. "Get away from my son!"

"He tried to attack _us_," Azula pointed out to the woman.

"What are you doing to him?" she asked in fear, looking at the fire in Aang's hands. He quickly quenched it.

"I'm trying to help—I'm the Avatar," he said, bowing respectfully. "Your son has attacked my friend with a knife, and we're merely defending ourselves."

"But he's a firebender," she said darkly. "I don't care if the war is over. They took my oldest son."

"But that wasn't Zuko's fault," Toph said to her, arms crossed. "He's different. He's the one who stopped this war. He's the Fire Lord." Lee's mother was silenced, as well as everyone else around them.

"My brother hasn't done an act of evil in his life," Azula scoffed. "What did he do to make you hate him so much?"

"I don't want this prejudice against the Fire Nation," Aang spoke out to the whole village. "We're out to stop it. Zuko is accepted now by all of us—he actively helped defeat Lord Ozai, along with his sister and a few more of our friends from the Fire Nation. All four Nations worked together to save the world."

"I never had any intentions to harm you," Zuko said to her, taking a step toward the woman and her son. "I wanted to help chase out those sad excuses for Earth soldiers. I wanted to save this village. Please, accept me now, at least for a little while. We were just passing through to get supplies."

Lee's mother still looked wary. Katara sighed.

"Listen, I love Zuko," she said. "I trust him with my life, and he would never harm anyone who hasn't harmed him. He will help this world as one of the leaders, and we can start an era of peace. I love him, not being part of the Fire Nation. I am of the Water Tribes, a waterbender." Lee's mother bowed her head. Lee was silent, now switching his gaze to Azula. Katara sighed again. "Azula's okay too."

"Oh, thanks Katara," Azula said to her, rolling her eyes.

"You can come for food and rest on our farm," Lee's mother said quietly, turning around and walking away. "I am sorry."

"It's okay, we understand," said Aang. Lee discretely slipped the knife back into his belt.

"You kept it," Zuko said quietly to him as he passed.

"I wanted to kill Fire Nation soldiers with it," he said darkly. "I've been practicing."

"I know how you feel," Jet said to the boy. "They killed my family and burned my village. Your pain is understandable. But look at me now; I'm a General in their army."

"You guys don't look like what you say you are," he grumbled.

"They're all heroes," Meng said to him. "But I'm a nobody. It's okay though, I don't really care anymore. They're all powerful fighters, and they're helping me get my revenge." She said the last part quietly to him.

"Your revenge?" he whispered, surprised.

"Some Fire Nation people burned my village, too," she said sadly. Her face turned to one of anger. "They're called the Rough Rhinos."

Lee was silent.

"Even though he's Fire Nation, I trust Zuko and the others. They've been looking after me since I lost everyone. Maybe one day I can be like them," Meng said.

"You're pretty strong," Lee said to her. "I don't know what I would do if all that happened to me..."

"How is your husband?" Zuko asked Lee's mother, walking to her side. She stared at him suspiciously before answering.

"He was badly injured in the war, when he went off to find my son," she answered. "Because of it, things have been difficult." The nine of them soon came to the border of the family's small farm, their assortment of pig hybrids squawking and squealing at them. Zuko couldn't help but notice that the number of the animals was reduced by half. "We are hoping to make more money with the harvest this year, but it will be hard without my husband."

"Maybe we can help," Aang offered. The woman looked truly shocked. The _Avatar _was offering to help with farm work?

"A-are you sure? Surely you have more important things to do...?"

"Tell you what," Katara said with a grin, arms folded. "In return for us helping with your harvest, you can give us some food and a place to rest?"

"Alright," she nodded.

Azula clapped her hands. "So, has anyone ever done a harvest before?" she asked sarcastically once the woman left.

"It can't be that hard, right?" Aang asked. "Me and Katara will cut down the corn stalks and clean them, Toph can get the root vegetables, and Jet and Zuko can cut down the wheat."

"What about me and Azula?" Meng asked him.

"And me!" Lee added. Aang thought for a moment.

"I guess you guys can clean everything else and tie anything left over in bundles," he said. "The Air Nomads used to farm all the time—it was all we ever ate."

"Okay then, let's get to work," Toph said, punching her palm.

* * *

"This is some pretty difficult work," Jet said to Zuko as the two used their swords to cut down the wheat.

"I'm glad to see that we're all putting our training to good use," he said, a trace of sarcasm in his voice. He seemed to feel better after getting the family's forgiveness.

"So, er... Fire Lord Zuko?" a male's voice asked them. The two turned around, wiping the sweat from their brows. Lee's father was standing there awkwardly. Zuko bowed. "Er... There's really no need for that."

"I'd like to thank you," Zuko said to him. "For accepting me as a firebender and the Fire Lord." Lee's father came closer, and the two of them noticed his lack of a right arm. "At ease," Zuko said. The man looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Treat me as you always have."

He nodded, holding out his left hand. "Thank you, for everything." Zuko shook it, grinning slightly. Suddenly, they heard a minor rumbling in the distance, which gradually got louder. Something was galloping up to them.

"Everyone, here comes trouble!" Toph yelled to them. "I recognize them!"

"Go back into your house, quickly!" Zuko said to Lee's father, upon seeing the beast approach the farm.

"What is that thing?" Jet asked Zuko, getting into a stance.

"A Shirshu," Zuko replied.

* * *

"Wow, I can see the temple from here!" Kei said, astonished. "_That's _Akikaze?"

"Yeah, finally," Smellerbee muttered. The four urged their ostrich-horses on through the expansive fields surrounding the Air Nation capital. The flatlands stretched as far as the eye could see, giving the environment a look of unending freedom—a perfect place for the fledgling Air Theocracy, who were as free as the wind. The huge walls of Ba Sing Se were visible as tiny bumps on the southern horizon, and to the north were the mountains where the Northern Air Temple lied.

Within minutes, Kei, Song, Smellerbee, and Longshot arrived at the entrance to the village, which looked far larger than one would guess by the number of inhabitants. They were greeted by two Earth Kingdom men who stood guard. The huge temple stood at the back of the village, towering over everything. It was being built by earthbenders lent to them by King Kuei. The buildings were made of wood and brick, and they were numerous. The village of Akikaze was well on its way to becoming a city.

"General Kei?" the Earth Kingdom soldiers asked, saluting.

"Yeah. I guess my men have arrived here?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. They are scouting the fields and protecting the perimeter of the village and the temple," one of them answered. "Chieftainess Ruo-Feng has been expecting you." At that, the two walked down the main road, the other four following them on their ostrich-horses as they gawked at their surroundings. They arrived at the temple without any trouble, as bison and lemurs and airbenders passed over them.

The temple was about the same size as the cardinal Air Temples, but instead of being consisted only of spires, the main bulk was on the ground level, with towers shooting up into the sky. Sky Bison stables were to the side, as well as numerous other chambers branching off of the temple. Earthbenders were constantly working and adding onto the temple. The main front doors were large and made of stone, with the Air Nation symbol carved into them. Their earthbender escorts opened them, showing the four a cathedral-sized chamber. Air Theocracy monks and builders were all around the chamber, doing all kinds of errands. The group was surprised to see the Mechanist issuing his plans to the builders. He turned at the sound of the door opening.

"Oh, hello there, friends of the Avatar!" he said energetically, running up to meet them. "This your first time seeing Akikaze and the temple? I designed it myself!" he said proudly.

"Hello," Song greeted, bowing. "It's a wonderful place."

"Yes, it is. The Air Theologians wanted the temple built immediately. They've worshipped the four Elemental Gods since their first collapse, did you know? There are chambers devoted to their Goddess Xiao of Air, the Goddess Nian of Water, the God Qi Rang of Earth, and the God Agni of Fire. It's very interesting, you should take a look..."

Someone cleared her throat from somewhere behind him. He jumped. "Oh, h-hello, Ruo-Feng!"

She sighed. "Give them room to breathe!"

"Sorry," he squirmed. "I'll get back to work!" And he ran off.

Chieftainess Ruo-Feng smiled at the four of them. "Sorry about him. He's taken to bragging about his work lately. But we are very grateful to him, he's a genius." The unusual airbending master had her lemur perched on her head of silky black, waist length hair.

"Yeah, he does kinda talk a lot," Kei said, scratching the back of his head. "Well, we're here, reporting for duty!"

"Thank you," she responded, bowing. "The recent raids on our village are doing nothing to help. Most of them just seem to be common bandits, but your men captured and found out that they are from an organization called the Arcanum. We are unsure of their goals, but the man escaped before we could question him further."

"Don't worry, we're here to protect the place," Smellerbee assured her. Longshot, behind her, nodded. "So what's with all of the buildings? I thought that there were very few people."

"Most of them are empty," Ruo-Feng admitted. "We are keeping them open just in case. Others are homes of the earthbenders working here and the former residents of the Northern Air Temple. Most are buildings that are not needed, but useful. We have shops, a small library, an inn, a healer's hut, and other things. We are making use of all of these earthbenders and builders at our disposal. We just need people to fill the empty places. In time, they will be filled, and we will be a large city. Hopefully, our people can extend and build villages in the new land held by us."

"We're here to help and make sure that'll happen," Kei said confidently. "It's a helping hand of peace from the Fire Nation, offering what we can as apology. We're here to aid in the rebuilding."

Ruo-Feng nodded her head. "Thank you," she said gratefully. "Now, I have to meditate and train the other airbenders. Malu taught me many things that enabled me to become a master, and now I am passing on her and the Avatar's knowledge. Please, explore our village and become acquainted with it. You have rooms, free of charge, at the inn. Farewell, and enjoy yourselves."

* * *

"We are making such great time!" Sokka yelled out, throwing his arms up into the air. "We got halfway across the Earth Kingdom in _two weeks_!" They stopped to rest only in the middle of the day and at night, doing most of their eating on Yanna's back. Currently, it was their noon break, and they were resting on the edge of the Si Wong Desert. Yanna was off getting food from the forest which was separated from the desert by a deep ravine.

"All thanks to Yanna!" Malu said happily. "Hmm... I've never been to the desert before."

"Want to go with me? I want to practice some sandbending. I'm actually kind of good at it," Haru said to her.

"I want to come too," Suki said.

"Let's all go," said Jin, looking at Sokka and Shuang, who groaned. "Come on Shuang, please? Deserts are really cool. And it's not like it's far away or anything!"

"Fine," he said exasperatedly. Jin clasped her hands together delightedly.

The two sides of the ravine were connected by a long wooden bridge, the only northern entrance to the desert for miles, for people on foot. It was here that the six chose to cross, since Yanna, Malu's bison, was off getting food in the forest. The bridge was held hanging in the air by thick ropes, a fact that did not comfort some of the group.

Sokka, Haru, and Jin peered over the edge uncertainly, as Suki, Shuang, and Malu walked comfortably. They each took slow, cautious steps.

"Come on, Sokka," Suki tried to pull him along.

"But the other end is so far away!" he cried nervously.

"Pull yourself together, Sokka. It's not all that bad!" Malu said to him.

"Easy for you to say," Jin said to the girl. "You're an airbender!"

"I'm a waterbender and I'm fine," Shuang said, sticking his tongue out at Jin. "Here, hold my arm. I promise I won't let anything happen to you." She bit her lip, but held on to his arm tightly as he guided her along.

"Suki," Sokka moaned. "Can I use your arm?" The Kyoshi Warrior slapped her forehead.

A few agonizingly slow minutes later, they got to the middle of the bridge.

"We would have been to the other side already if you three weren't such chickens!" Malu sighed. At that moment, the wind started blowing, shaking the bridge. Sokka, Haru, Jin, and even Shuang squeaked with fear. A cloud of dust on the desert side approached them, sliding to a stop in front of the bridge. Several sandbenders and a bearded, muscular man got off of the sand-sailer, staring at the kids suspiciously.

"Hey, who're you?" one of the sandbenders asked, getting into a stance.

"Wait a minute," the bearded man said, "I recognize them!" He burst out laughing. "They're six of the so-called Champions, Vanquishers of the Fire Lord!"

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

"I've heard from my 'accomplice,' Sirena. You've met her before," he said with a devilish grin. "I guess I'll finish her job, then..." The six fighters got into stances, waiting for an attack from the man, but he simply grabbed the side of the rope bridge. Black smoke rose from his hands. He was burning the rope away!

Before anyone could turn around and run back to the other side, the bridge snapped. Everyone was able to grab onto the wood planks or rope railing, except for Sokka, who held onto Shuang's leg, and Malu, who let herself fall.

"Get 'em, Yao," one of the sandbenders said, cheering the firebending man on. The man identified as Yao opened his mouth wide, where fire began gathering around it. A large fireball flew from his mouth, headed toward the vulnerable Jin, but Malu, on her glider, hit it back at him. Yao crossed his arms in front of him to block the attack.

"Malu, let me grab on to your leg!" Haru shouted to her.

"That's not gonna happen," Yao said deviously, severing the other ropes. The bridge fell, unsupported by the desert side of the ravine. It fell against the forest cliffside, the five occupants hanging on for dear life.

"Hang on, guys!" Malu yelled to her friends, flying in a tight circle at high speeds. The produced tornado hung in the air for a second, until the airbender pushed it at the firebender and his sandbending accomplices. It pushed them back with devastating force, but the sandbenders were able to conjure up a wall of sand to block most of the attack. Haru let one of his arms free, using it to earthbend a section of the cliff. A flat piece jutted out of it, and he latched onto the wall and crawled to it. Once he was in a standing position, he bended part of the wall under the bridge, extending it so that his friends could get to safety.

The Ghost-Witch circled around her foes, fighting them on the ground. Yao unleashed a torrent of fire from his mouth, circling around him as he tried to fight the elusive airbender. She jumped back a safe distance from them, then swung her staff at speeds that made her arms seem like a blur, releasing arcs of air that swiped and cut everything in sight. Several sandbenders jumped to the edge of the cliff to evade the attack, and Haru took this chance to make the ridge collapse, bringing them all to their doom. He broke off the ledge he was standing on, concentrating only on making the earth bring him up to where Yao was fighting Malu. Fighting alongside her, he pulled up a large amount of sand and pushed it in his direction. More fireballs were unleashed from his mouth, fending off the sand that flew toward him. Smoking pieces of glass fell to the ground.

"He's tough," Haru said, concentrating solely on the battle. He had difficulty getting the sand to push the firebender down.

"Haru, look!" Malu suddenly yelled, pointing to the distance. From the same direction Yao and the sandbenders came, there were more sand-sailers coming to them. "Think it's more trouble?"

"I'm outta here," Yao said to them. "You kids got lucky with numbers," he snarled, jumping onto the other sailer where other benders awaited, bringing him away from the scene. Three other sailers took his place, skidding to a stop in front of them.

Haru and Malu got into a stance, but the people getting off of the sailer were friendly. "Thank you for ridding this desert of the last remnants of the Arcanum," a young man said, stepping off of it. He held out his hand to them. "I'm Ghashiun, son of Shaqi, Chief of one of our villages."

Haru shook his hand. "Yeah, we thought he might have been with the Arcanum. You said they were here before?"

Ghashiun darkened. "Yes. That man, Yao, came to get a report from my brother, a previous member of our Tribe and one of the key leaders of the Arcanum. We tried chasing him away, but you beat us to it. The Avatar and his friends expelled my brother."

"Aang was here?" Haru asked, his eyebrows rising in surprise.

"What about Aang?" Sokka shouted to them from below. "Hey Malu, call Yanna to pick us up!"

The airbender giggled, pulling out her bison whistle. "Okay!" The bison came in seconds, crashing through the trees, thinking there was some sort of problem. "It's okay girl, everything's fine! Go help them for me," she calmed the bison, pointing down at Sokka, Suki, Shuang, and Jin. In moments, they were all regrouped in front of Ghashiun.

"So Aang was here? He and the others helped you guys?" Sokka asked for confirmation.

"Yeah, he pretty much stopped a war from happening," Ghashiun verified.

"We're all searching for information about the Arcanum," Suki said to him. "His group is checking throughout the Earth Kingdom, while we were assigned the Water Tribes."

"The Water Tribes, huh?" Ghashiun asked. "Katara told me that there's no earth there. That's definitely somewhere I'd never want to go."

"Yeah, it's not very fun," Haru agreed. "I can't do any bending there."

"Ah, wait a minute!" The sandbender snapped his fingers. "I have a gift for you, then." He went back to the sailer, rummaging through one of the storage compartments. "Here, a gourd of sand," he presented it to Haru. He looked confusedly at the gourd-shaped container, which was sand-colored.

"Uh... thanks?"

"Take it," the sandbender proffered it to him. "It's very useful for places where you won't be able to earthbend. Most of us take them with us whenever we leave the desert, being most comfortable with sand."

"Won't it be kind of heavy?" Haru asked him, holding it in his arms. But, surprisingly, it was kind of light.

"It's special sand," Ghashiun said with a grin, answering his question. "It comes from the most spiritual place in the desert, the magnetic center, where it is hardened by the magnetic pull. It's a lot harder than regular sand, but also lighter and more effective."

"Wow, thank you," Haru said, bowing sincerely. "This'll be very useful."

"Yeah, but you were bending sand the wrong way," Ghashiun pointed out to him. "You kind of have to completely re-learn earthbending. Sand is much more fluidic than rock, causing our bending art to be more like waterbending and airbending than earthbending."

"How am I supposed to learn how to move like a waterbender and an airbender?" Haru asked him unsurely.

"From us, of course!" Malu said happily, hugging a reluctant Shuang close. "We're both masters. You'll learn how to bend sand in no time!"

"Thank you," Haru said. "This will be very useful in our travels."

"We really owe the Avatar and his friends for helping us. We _did _take his bison, but they still helped us in our time of need."

"Okay, we've got to go!" Sokka said loudly, interrupting them. "We can't lose our excellent time to the South Pole."

"Alright!" Shuang cheered. "I've never been there before."

"None of you have," Sokka said, crossing his arms. "Well, we'll see you guys later!" He waved to the Sand Tribesmen, hopping onto the Sky Bison. The other five climbed on top of her, waving goodbye. As Yanna took to the sky, Haru opened the gourd, letting the sand bend easily around him. He clenched his fist, excited to get to the Southern Water Tribe.

* * *

June the Bounty Hunter jumped off of her Shirshu, snapping her whip at them, circling the group like a predator that caught her prey.

"You again?" Toph asked, ready to earthbend.

"I guess I'll outright tell you," June said, pulling a spiked, half-circle blade from her back. "I get paid by the Arcanum to hunt you down. You've been a thorn in their side for far too long."

"Seems like everyone's from the Arcanum," Azula mused.

"You again, Princess?" June asked her. She looked over to Zuko. "Both of you hired me to get the Avatar, and now you've joined them? How priceless."

"Times have changed," Azula replied, attacking her with a bolt of lightning. A block of stone rose from the ground to block the attack, which shattered into a million pieces.

"Jojo!" Katara scowled, attacking the Kissing Bandit with icicles. June's whip snapped in front of the attack, warding them off.

"I'm so glad you remembered me!" she said happily, jumping up into the air and dropping her heel into the ground. A huge crater formed around her, which shook the earth and threw them all back, except for Aang and Toph.

"Stay back!" Zuko yelled to Lee and his family, who were huddled together in front of the boy's house, with Meng. He sent a wave of blue flame out to the duo, Aang mimicking his attack. The two jumped out of the way, but Aang sprang on top of them, swinging his staff.

"What do they want?" he asked furiously, punching through Jojo's block of earth.

"Boy, you've gotten cuter," she said, winking at him. "Not so child-like anymore." The Kissing Bandit was thrown back by an attack from Toph.

"You'll get away from him if you know what's good for you!" the Blind Bandit shouted to her. Jojo frantically warded off the attacks from Aang and Toph, fumbling as she barely blocked a fireball from Azula. Toph took advantage of her loss of balance, knocking her to the ground. Aang hastily conjured water and froze both of her hands to her feet, pointing his staff at her face.

"Tell me everything you know about the Arcanum," he growled.

* * *

Zuko ran toward June with his broadswords, Jet covering him. He dodged under the Bounty Hunter's whip bite, slashing his sword at her midsection. She jumped back, a snarl on her face. Her whip lashed out at him again, but he caught it with one of his swords. She yanked back on the whip, pulling the sword with it. Before she could gloat her small victory, Jet jumped into the fray, using both of his hook swords to attack in a vertical cleave. Zuko took this moment to check on Katara, who was fending off their enemy's Shirshu.

June blocked Jet's attack with her own new blade, slicing out at him with incredible speed. The sword cut through the air, but the ex-Freedom Fighter blocked it with the two of his swords, battling against her pure strength. Blue fire covered Zuko's sword, and he swung it at the girl, unleashing the flames. She rolled out of the way, narrowing her eyes at him.

"You know, I'm still in this to get back at you guys from injuring my Shirshu that one day," she said, crouching down low, ready to spring.

"You hold grudges long—kinda reminds me of someone I know," Jet said, quickly glancing at Katara. Zuko smirked. It was true. June flipped backwards, landing a safe distance away from them. Suddenly, Lee shouted out, running toward her with Zuko's knife extended, ready to strike. She smirked and parried the clumsy blow. Zuko and Jet made to attack her before Lee could get hurt, but June spoke out.

"One step closer and I'll kill the kid," she said. She turned to Lee. "Now, what made you think you could come out and attack me all by yourself?" she asked him, swinging her sword at him to scare the boy. He ducked under the attacks, breathing deeply. "Aw, look, an amateur with the knife," she teased.

While she was distracted, Zuko quickly let loose a ball of flame, hoping to strike her while she played with Lee. She saw his movement, and made to swing at him.

"_Think of the sword as an extension of your arm,"_ Zuko's lesson quickly flashed through his mind, and the next thing he knew, a vibration was running down his arm as a result of his knife clanging against her sword. He was surprised at his reflex, but the golden flame clashed against the Bounty Hunter, sending her tumbling on the ground.

"You're done," Jet said, standing over her with his sword pointed at her face.

* * *

"Tell me," Aang repeated, his voice angry. Jojo thought for a moment, and then shrugged from her position on the ground.

"Well, I guess it won't hurt me anymore," she said. "I'm not really sure who their leader is, 'cause they're very secretive about that. I dunno about their goals either. Or who the other members are. Or how many people they have."

Aang stared blankly. "Then what _do _you know?"

"Some guy named Yao assigned us this mission. Oh, and they're in Omashu," she said, tapping her finger against her rosy lips.

"Omashu?!" Aang asked, shocked. "We thought they were in Ba Sing Se!"

"No, silly," Jojo said. "Why would they be there?" Now that she mentioned it, Aang thought about it. They never really had any solid evidence that they were in Ba Sing Se... Also, Omashu was currently lacking a firm leader. It made sense.

"Oh, uh, thanks then," he said awkwardly, stepping back to let the girl up. He was advanced enough in earthbending to know if she was telling the truth. "Why are you siding with the Arcanum anyway? You don't seem like an evil type of person."

"You know, there are different shades of grey in this world," she informed him. "But I dunno. I guess I'll think about it." Aang raised an eyebrow.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Okay, not a very good place to end a chapter, I know, but I'll conclude it next chapter. I've kept you guys waiting too long and the chapter was getting kind of long anyway.**

**Speaking of that, I'm terribly sorry for not updating sooner. This one was kind of difficult to write for me, because I had writer's block on numerous parts. I also have a huge project due soon that I haven't really started yet, and I've been stressed about that and I don't know what to do. Also, I've still been playing with my Christmas stuff :) I got Zelda: Twilight Princess, and I'm hooked.**

**Hmm... What else to say. Oh, I don't own Yao. He belongs to Tefnut Talvi, from her story "Fire and Water." Thanks again for letting me use him and Sirena! Also, I have another question for you guys: In ending the chapter here, I'm leaving it open for Lee to join the group or not. In joining, there will be some more Meng/Lee if you're a fan of that and don't want Meng to be lonely, but if not, then it's not really a loss to me. So do you guys want him to join the GAang?**

**Now that I'm in the second half, the chapters will be getting longer. They will be interesting to write, I hope. Okay, before this Author's note gets any longer, I'll cut it off. Please review, and I hope you guys all had a happy holiday!**


	12. The Yu Yan Archers

**Author's Notes: I'm very, very sorry for not updating sooner. It's nearing the end of the marking period in school, and my teachers are overloading us with work. That'll end soon though. Don't worry, I won't become one of those people that update once a month (or worse O.o). But with this update, I've gotten to half of that :( **

**Anonymous Review Responses:**

**Avatar-dude: Well, in this story, I'd say that Meng and Lee are around twelve, and in this time period Aang and Toph are almost fourteen. Don't worry, Meng and Lee won't be having any intense make-out sessions XD But then again, nobody really does. Sorry! Not revealing anything about my "Distorted Reality" fic here!**

**Oh, everyone else—Sorry if my spelling of the Yu Yan Archers is wrong. I've seen so many variations that I'm not even sure. I am fairly confident that this one is correct, though.**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 12: The Yu Yan Archers_

Everything was silent save the crackle of the fire and the chirping of the insects in the dark forest around them. The six were in a small clearing, stopping with their traveling for the night but too awake to go to find sleep, with the exception of Keioushi.

Nodoka stared into the heat of the flames, his spear held lank in his hand, the fire's reflection burning in his blue crystal eyes. He was currently contemplating another interesting point—the girl named On Ji. He knew next to nothing about her, knowing only that she was a firebender who lived in the Outer Islands. She was kind enough, helping where she could. She was the one who made the fire for them. He glanced up at her. She didn't notice his stare as she gazed into the fire herself, her eyelids drooping. Teo was in a similar state, but Ty Lee was up and alert, her head turning in every direction into the dark forest around them, her long braid slapping the slumping and snoring Keioushi in the face. Mai was the same as always.

"On Ji," Nodoka suddenly spoke, "Why did those earthbenders want you?" She blinked away her drowsiness and sat up straight, surprised at being addressed by him. Teo and Mai looked at him, and then switched their gazes to her, while Ty Lee continued swiveling her head around and Keioushi slept.

"I'm not exactly sure," she said, putting a finger near her mouth.

"They attacked you, unprovoked, and you fought back, correct?" he asked. She shook her head.

"No. They were attacking my city, and I wanted to defend it, just like my mother once did. I fought against them, and they fought back," she answered, her posture straight. She recited the words as if answering a question posed by a teacher.

"Mm," he mumbled, resuming his gaze into the fire. After a moment, he asked, "Who was your mother?"

"She was a wonderful person," she replied. "She was part of the Blaze Brigade, and she also taught me firebending." The young girl took a gulp, and steadied herself. "She died in the battle of Ba Sing Se a little over a year ago," she said in a deep whisper, her voice cracking only slightly. Nodoka's eyes widened, and glanced at Mai and Ty Lee. One glance into Mai's eyes told him she understood what he was thinking, while Ty Lee's mouth was open in a gasp, and she instantly went over to comfort the girl.

"We're sorry," Ty Lee said softly, rubbing the girl's back. "I know how you feel. I lost my mother when I was very young, and I... my father died during the war, too." On Ji's posture was drooping, her face morose. "It's okay to be sad."

Suddenly, resolve burned in the young firebender's eyes. "No, I'm not sad," she said decisively. "I'm proud of my mother for fighting bravely. And now... and now that I think about it, I've realized that... you guys might have been fighting in the same battle." The three stared at the ground, knowing full well of the implications of her words. It could have been any one of them. "But... it's okay. I understand that you were all fighting for what you believe in. She also wanted the war to end, and if it meant stopping the Earth Kingdom and letting the Fire Nation rule the world, she was okay with it. I'm not holding any grudges. I trust you guys."

Ty Lee gave her one of her happy smiles. "Well, I've got a confession to make." Her facial expression abruptly darkened. "Me and Mai, we're part of the Fire Nation, just like you. My pops was one of the Generals of the army," she admitted. "Naturally, we had to stop him, along with the Fire Lord. It was one of the toughest moments of my life, but I did it. I had to stop him. So I guess I'm in the same boat as you," she said, shrugging weakly. On Ji looked shocked.

"Y-you... killed your own father?" she asked, now horrified.

"He wasn't exactly a father to me. He hated me because I was different," she said sadly. "But I don't care anymore. I ran away from him a long time ago. He's not my father anymore. My father is kept safe in my memories," she said with a tiny smile, putting her hands over her heart. "When we were little, he used to love his seven little girls. He'd always buy us presents and come home happy. But when my mom died, everything changed. We were ignored. He tried to make us fiercely loyal to the Fire Nation, sometimes forcefully. He became a twisted monster. He married off some of my sisters to rich noblemen. He actually hoped that I'd marry Zuko," she added as an afterthought. "Anyway, I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't want to be like the four that were married off, so I ran away to join the circus."

They all let Ty Lee stay silent for a moment, reminiscing in her childhood. "They were all girly-girls. I wanted to be different. The other two were kind of like me—I saw them in this last year, once the war ended—they told me that after I left, they kind of just ignored our father. One of them went to a good school and kept their nose out of his business and away from him. My oldest sister moved to Old Azulon to try and stir up some rebels there. Long story short, it worked, for the most part. She sabotaged the army, and after the war, she tried to find me." Ty Lee was smiling now, staring up into the night sky. She spoke to On Ji. "Even though things seemed bad from the beginning, it turned out kind of nice for me. It will for you, too, I promise!"

"Hey, Ty Lee!" Keioushi said, waving to get her attention. He was sitting up, listening raptly to her story. Nobody noticed him wake up or his lack of snores. "You know, that's kind of like me. I have two older brothers that are both smarter and stronger than me, and I wanted to be different by being funny, y'know?"

She clasped her hands together happily. "Wow, we're so much alike!"

On Ji uneasily looked at them as the two chattered happily. "Well, I guess compared to her, I've got it easy."

"Don't say that. The pain of losing a parent can't be measured," Nodoka said to her.

"I lost my mother too, but I barely knew her," Teo said to them. "She died when I was really young."

"I have both of my parents, but home life with my father wasn't that great," Nodoka admitted quietly to them. Mai's head perked up, looking at him. Nodoka wasn't the type to divulge in his past. But, she was curious, and she had never heard what his life was like as a child. "He always expected much of me. He thought that joining the Earth Kingdom army was an honor, and I was always being trained. Battle tactics were drilled into my head. Before I joined this group, I was a being meant only for war. You have all taught me otherwise. My father himself is a Commander in the army, and he is the head of the Yari family. When I came home after suffering an injury, he was angry to see me leave. I haven't seen him since I went back home once the war was over."

"What did he say?" Mai asked him quietly.

"Nothing. But... I think he was proud of me, in his own way. My mother and sister were shocked," Nodoka said. "I do not mind anymore about my father. He used to think of me as a failure, but I think that has changed."

"Kind of reminds me of my parents," Mai said. "I was an only child for fifteen years and I got what I wanted, as long as I behaved. I wasn't allowed to do much—my mother said that we had my father's political status to upkeep. I was not allowed to show many emotions."

"Hey, that explains your dingy attitude," Keioushi pointed out, smirking. Mai glared at him.

"Shut up," she said monotonously.

"Well, Mai," Ty Lee said with the air of speaking to a young child, "you can't keep your feelings all bottled up all the time. You gotta let loose and _EXPLODE_!" she yelled, complete with wild hand motions. As soon as her voice rose in pitch, a wolf-panther howled in the distance. Ty Lee immediately squeaked and sat down.

"Come on, let 'em all go," Keioushi encouraged her.

"You can do it!" Teo added.

"Yeah!" On Ji said.

"Why don't you all just _shut up_?" Mai yelled to them, standing up.

"Nice one," Keioushi said, clapping his hands together.

"Idiots," Mai muttered. Nodoka suddenly stood up straight, lifting his spear with him and smacking it against the air. The next thing they saw was rock shattering into pieces right in front of them, destroyed by Nodoka. Mai spotted their attackers as soon as the boulder was thrown, and she returned the attack with a barrage of knives. Suddenly, from all around them, rocks slid across the ground at the six. Nodoka sprang above the attack, landing in one of the tree branches around them, while the others did what they could to dodge.

He quickly scanned the forest floor not far below him. He spotted a white glint of something, but it was only Mai's knives imbedded into a tree, reflecting the moonlight. He tried to see where the earth attacks were coming from, attempting to see from the light of On Ji's firebending. He saw Teo fumble with his crossbow, Keioushi and Ty Lee spring into action, and... _there._ The warrior jumped down from his tree, preparing to impale an earthbender, but he saw the attack and quickly jumped out of the way. The silver-haired man nearly cursed. The man moved his arms hastily, as if spinning something quite large, and the next thing Nodoka knew, his feet were bound in the earth. He spiraled, going deeper and deeper into the ground, until he was waist-deep. His elbows soon followed, and then he was effectively out of the fight.

The other five heard a metal thumping in the distance, coming closer and closer to them. Mai quickly hurled the needles between her fingers at another figure in the trees, hearing a satisfying groan of pain. Keioushi and Ty Lee were out of her vision, lost in the fighting in the thick woods, but On Ji's fireball was flying through the air all around her, lighting up the clearing (she had taken it from their campfire) and attacking who she could. The problem was she wasn't being very wise with her movements.

"On Ji, stop! You'll burn the trees!" Mai yelled. They did not want a forest fire around them, as they did not have the help of a Sky Bison to take them to safety. The girl jumped at the sound of her shout, and the fire she was controlling was quenched. Instant darkness was brought to the area.

The thumping stopped.

The next thing they heard was the instant gathering of a massive amount of energy, condensed into a tiny beam. Mai saw the small light just in time, and ran at On Ji and tackled her into the woods. An explosion followed, lighting up the area once more. Mai saw the glint of metal in the moonlight, and threw her knives at the body it was attached to. Once the wind from the explosion was settled, Mai's eyes widened with fear. Their whole campsite was blazing with golden flames.

"On Ji, you have to quench the fire!" Mai shouted to the young girl.

"Wh-what? By myself? What about you?" she asked, staring at the fire with fear.

"You have to—I'll fight him," she said, shooting more knives from the holsters in her arms at the Combustion Man. The strange eye symbol on his forehead lit up again, sending out minor explosions and destroying her weapons. More needles were in between her fingers in an instant. Nodoka, Ty Lee, Keioushi, and Teo were gone, so she had to take charge. She rolled under his next energy beam, feeling the heat of the explosion behind her. The trees were obliterated, and a new fire was burning where she was moments before. She ran toward him, throwing the needles as she dodged another attack, jumping to the trunk of a tree and bouncing off of it. Her agility brought her to the branch of another tree, and from there she threw a spinning knife at him. That attack landed, cutting him across the shoulder. He snarled at her, and was ready to fire again, but was punched in the side of the head by a flying Keioushi. Moments later, Ty Lee hit him with a spinning kick.

"Where is Nodoka? And Teo?" Mai quickly asked them.

"No idea," Ty Lee panted. "But we took down the earthbenders."

"Stop with these explosions, man! You'll burn down the whole forest!" Keioushi shouted to the Combustion Man, but he replied with another beam from his forehead. The three jumped out of the way, and moments later, an arrow was suddenly imbedded in the man's uninjured shoulder. Mai bit her lip, throwing knives and darts at him in torrents, trying to keep his attention away from the person she knew shot that arrow. Naturally, the Combustion Man roared with pain, but before he could look for the attacker he had to do something about Mai's barrage of projectiles. He inhaled shortly, and then let out another beam of energy. Ty Lee and Keioushi, tired from their previous battle, were unable to completely escape the following explosion and were sent soaring into trees, knocked out cold.

Mai's determination only increased. She slowly neared him as he let out furious explosions immediately following each other, trying to keep his attention away from Teo, bearer of the crossbow. If he found the boy, then he would not be spared. He would be unable to completely escape the explosion in time, with his disability. The Combustion Man deflected another dart with his metal arm, and seconds later Mai was flying at him with a knife in hand. She knew he wouldn't try an explosion with her so close to him. From what she knew of him from their previous engagement, he was a distance fighter, and thus she needed to get closer to have any sort of advantage. But she was also a distance fighter.

Unfortunately, this was the only way.

Before she could slash him across the face with her knife, he brought up his metal arm... and punched her. Even though she was spared of the spikes on his arm, the force of the blow was nearly bone breaking. She had one last thought before blacking out. Unluckily for her, it seemed that he had some experience in hand-to-hand combat.

* * *

On the other side of the world, dark figures crept along the plains. Many years ago, a battle took place on the grasslands, permanently scarring the land. The remnants of metal tanks, now rusted and half-buried, as well as other weapons remained. There were deep grooves in the ground and twisted and pointed rocks were the result of furious battles of earthbenders. The dark figures used these as cover.

Fire Nation men were patrolling the fields, only to be shot down on sight; quickly, efficiently, and silently. Once all of the patrols were gone, the dark figures made their way to the village gates of Akikaze.

* * *

In each of the small, burning clearings, On Ji gathered all of the fire to her, sweating under the amount of energy she was containing. She dissipated the flames, but more and more fires were being created as the Combustion Man was fighting Mai. She hoped the quiet older girl was alright, as well as Teo and the others. The strain of containing and putting out all of these fires was slowly becoming too much for her. She wouldn't be able to keep it up much longer. If only she was a master!

Teo came frantically rolling into the clearing just as she put out the fires of the next one. The explosions had stopped.

"On Ji! We're in trouble!" Teo shouted to her. "Everyone else was defeated by that man!"

"What should we do?" she asked him fearfully.

"Submit to us willingly," someone said to them, approaching from the shadows. It was one of the earthbenders, easily identified by his Earth Kingdom clothing. Before either of them could react, he shout out small rocks to On Ji, both of them hitting her in the wrists and sending them smacking into each other, where they connected. She stumbled backwards from the force of the attack, unable to stop her fall with her arms. In the moment her bound wrists were closest to her ankles behind her, her ankles were immediately encased in earth and bound against her wrists. All in all, they combined to make a very uncomfortable position. "You do anything, and she's dead," the earthbender said to Teo.

"Teo, get away!" On Ji shouted to him weakly. The young boy bit his lip, but put his head down, accepting his imprisonment.

* * *

Around a half hour later, all six of them were carried on the shoulders of the earthbenders, bound and unconscious. Only Teo and On Ji were awake. The Combustion Man led the way as the earthbenders marched to an unknown place. Teo grumbled as one of the earthbenders was inspecting his crossbow, nearly breaking it. Another was pushing his wheelchair along, while another was holding Nodoka's spear and seemed to want to make it his own.

"Where are you taking us?" Teo asked the Combustion Man.

"You've been a thorn in the Arcanum's side for too long already," one of the earthbenders answered for him. "They want to hold you guys captive until the next war is over," he said with a sadistic grin.

"Next war?!" On Ji asked, terrified. "But the other one just ended!"

"You don't know what you're talkin' about, missy," he said to her. "The war never ended—it just... 'took a break,'" he snickered.

Teo closed his eyes as if in pain as their adventure took another turn for the worse. _Why _did he want to come with them so badly, anyway?

* * *

Song breathed in the scent of the sweet fragrance. She was in one of her favorite places in Akikaze—the flower shop. She had discovered it while searching for some medicinal herbs, but ended up loving the place and all of the flowers inside. She struck a friendship with the owner, a girl around her age named Lani. She was a kind, blonde-haired airbender, one of the few in the village.

"Where do you get all of these?" Song asked excitedly, looking all around her. "They're wonderful." They were all the same lavender colored flowers, on the walls, on the floor in vases and pots, and hanging from pots suspended from the ceiling.

"They grow all around here," the girl answered with a smile. "They're the only flowers in the world that bloom in the autumn. They're called Akihana. This region is the only place in the world that they grow. I think it's rather fitting for us, don't you?"

She nodded. Song wanted to get some of them for Kei, but she worried about whether or not he would like them. He never expressed an interest in flowers. But he wasn't like Sokka, who considered them too "girly" for him. Lani released a refreshing breeze over the flowers, rippling them in the breeze. It blew Song's hair, and she gently closed her eyes. She felt the sunlight streaming in through the open window, and smelt the fragrance of the Akihana, and felt truly at peace.

"I'd like to buy some," Song finally said. Lani waved her hand.

"Just take them. It would be kind of dumb to buy them when you can just gather them right outside the village anyway," the airbender said.

"Thank you!" Song said with a smile and a formal bow.

"Don't worry about it," Lani said. "What are friends for?" She winked at Song. "But... in repayment, you have to come here a lot. It gets kind of boring by myself."

"Of course!" Song said. She gathered a bunch of the flowers and put them in the basket on her arm. "This is my favorite place to visit in Akikaze." The other girl put her chin down on her crossed fingers.

"You're so lucky, getting to travel the world all the time. You're as free as the wind," Lani said dreamily, flicking the air with a finger, causing small gusts. "Coming here from the Cahdeham Mountains was the largest adventure of my life, but it wasn't exciting compared to what you've been through."

"Well most of the stuff I do is dangerous!" Song told her. "I've nearly died many times, but I've had my friends to save me."

"Heh, the only friend I had when I was young was Malu. We used to get into all kinds of trouble together," the airbender said, giggling. "But as she got older, she had to attend her duties of protecting the village. All I did was gather some wildflowers back then," she said, frowning.

"We're sorry for taking her away," Song apologized. "Believe me, fighting in a war isn't very fun."

"But you still get to travel around the world without the war!" Lani said, going around the counter. "I want to be _free_."

Song sobered. "I would say you're very lucky to be safe through the whole war. You're free of pain and sadness and violence. Even before I joined the Avatar's group my family was hurt." Here, Song lifted the hem of her _hanbok_ (1), revealing the deep scars on her legs. Lani's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry," Lani quickly apologized. "I didn't know..."

"Don't worry about it," Song imitated her with a smile. "But I can understand. The war is over, and you want to be a nomad like your ancestors, right?"

"Yeah," Lani eagerly nodded.

"Maybe one day we all can. I can introduce you to Aang and all the others. They're really nice people, you'd like them," Song said, and Lani immediately brightened. "But until then, I'm staying here for our mission."

"Okay, I'll hold you to that promise," Lani said, giving her a thumbs-up. "Well, I'll let you go. Seeya later!"

"Bye!" Song said to her, walking out the door. She walked in the direction of the huge Air Temple, towards Kei.

* * *

Smellerbee uninterestedly tossed her kukri up into the air, caught it, and flipped it up again, over and over. Life in Akikaze was pretty boring. She was alone outside in the broad fields outside of the Air Nation village, the Akihana flowers waving in the wind all around her. She stood silently, looking out to the mountains to the north. Grey clouds began to descend over the area, giving the whole field a depressing look.

With the lack of anything to do, Smellerbee turned to more "womanly" things in Akikaze. She washed herself up every day, generally tried to be more gentle and kind (sadly, that one didn't last long) and even started wearing a _hanbok_, like Song. Hers was more suited to Air Nation colors; orange, saffron yellow, and light browns woven into it. All of this was in an effort, once again, to get Longshot to notice her. During the past year, her love (yes, it was love, she decided) for him only grew. At first she blamed it on hormones, but with each passing day, it was enflamed. But unfortunately, he seemed to regard everything as he always had—silently and without comment. She was changing for him. And he didn't notice.

If there was one thing Longshot didn't notice, she decided, it was the affections of a girl.

She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She was about to grab her knife and stab the person in the gut, but she stopped herself just in time. She merely grabbed the person's wrist and turned around, letting go immediately on seeing Longshot's emotionless expression. She gave him a slightly satisfied look as he rubbed his wrist in his only reaction of pain.

"You seem troubled," he said. Her countenance immediately went back to its normal grumpy mask. She shrugged.

"Things are too boring here," she said. For a moment, there was silence, which felt extremely awkward on her end. Longshot, of course, was used to it and didn't seem to care.

"You seem... different lately," he said finally, looking toward the same mountains she was gazing at moments before. She looked up at him. Was he finally...? No, he was just making a remark.

It was quiet.

"That's it?" she asked finally, growing frustrated. "That's all you have to say?" He fixed his scrutinizing gaze on her. "Don't give me that look! You know what I mean!" He did nothing, only bearing the brunt of her fury. "Can't you just _notice _me? I've been trying so _hard_. And you aren't doing _anything_."

"I acknowledge you," Longshot finally said. "You are one of my greatest companions."

"But all this changing," Smellerbee blurted out, "I'm doing it for you." She looked down at her clothes, her hair, everything. Some _feeling _was flooding up inside her, it made her want to scream. But she didn't know if it was for anger.

"There is no need to be different. I like Smellerbee. Do not become someone else." She looked up at him again, some of the anger fading from her face. "I like you the way you are."

She smiled one of her true, rare, albeit small, smiles.

"Why aren't you speaking?" he asked. "You have been telling me to speak more."

She grinned, bit her lip, and made herself do it. For that one moment where she grabbed his shoulders, balanced on the tips of her toes, and pressed her lips to his, she felt like a little girl. The boy instantly froze, but relaxed when he realized it was a kinder gesture than he originally thought. When Smellerbee pulled away, she thought that she liked her first kiss. Longshot's face was extremely pale and frightened-looking, but it made her laugh.

"Because actions speak louder than words," Smellerbee said to him, feeling happier than she was in a long time. After a moment, she looked down at her _hanbok_, scowled, and ripped it off. Her older clothing was underneath. "Thank Qi Rang, I was getting tired of these annoying dresses." Longshot pointed questioningly to the three tassels on her head, his face still ghostly pale. "Nah, I think I'll keep this hair. I've had it for the past year, anyway."

At that moment, loud screams ripped through the air, and the two jumped up to look for the source.

"It's Akikaze!" Smellerbee yelled.

* * *

By the time they were back in the village, it was chaos. Bloody bodies of Earth and Fire Nation soldiers littered the streets, arrows sticking out of their chests. Some houses were aflame, the fires quickly spreading to the other homes. Many of the citizens, Air Nation or otherwise, were running through the streets to find any kind of shelter. The next thing Longshot and Smellerbee knew, arrows were singing through the air, some with burning tips and others trying to strike the soldiers or civilians. The few earthbending builders left alive tried to fight back and defend with stone, while the airbenders deflected as many arrows as they could with barriers of wind. The Air Nation archers retaliated with their own attacks, but the superior skill of the other archers quickly made them flee.

The two ran through the village streets, trying to find a familiar face amidst the destruction. They spotted Ruo-Feng, the Chieftainess, waving her arms frantically as she warded off the blows and attacked in the direction of the temple. As of then, neither of the two had seen these enemies, but as they saw the airbender attack they spotted dark figures trying to flee from her fury. They were atop the distant spires of the temple, attacking the village with great precision and skill.

Following right after Ruo-Feng on the ground were Kei, Song, and a blonde Air Nation girl, and just as Smellerbee was about to call out to them, an arrow was sent straight for the three. Kei hastily threw up his shield to block the attack, while the other girl, now identified as an airbender, tried sending a blast of air their way.

"What's happening?" Smellerbee shouted, running up to them.

"We don't know—they suddenly attacked!" Kei responded. "They're probably from the Arcanum!" he growled.

"I have heard of them," Longshot said in his normal tone. "They are called the Yu Yan Archers."

"Is that supposed to mean something to us?" Kei asked him, as the others responded with clueless looks. Longshot mentally sighed.

"They are said to be the greatest archers in the world," he replied monotonously. The others gulped. "How many are there?"

"We can't tell," Song replied, a little fearfully. "They're moving around too much."

"I need to get up there," Longshot said flatly.

"What?" Smellerbee asked him incredulously. "What are you planning on doing?" Thunder pealed overhead, and the grey clouds turned blacker.

"Defeating them," he responded. He turned to the airbender, Lani. "Bring me there." The girl nodded wordlessly, taking the staff from her back and unfurling her orange glider.

"No! You can't go alone!" Smellerbee yelled at him. "I'll go with you!"

"No, you will just be a liability," Longshot deadpanned. "Only I can fight them." Smellerbee glared at him, and grabbed his arm as he reached out to hang on to the back of Lani's glider. "You are worrying over nothing," he said. His piercing dark stare turned to one of comfort. "I will be fine." Smellerbee reluctantly let go, looking at him worriedly as he and Lani flew off to the battle.

Few arrows were aiming toward them as they flew to the Temple, oddly. Those that did were blasted away by Lani from her mouth. As she dropped him off on one of the high spires of the Temple, she took a fighting stance. He shook his head at her. "Leave. Now," he said, drawing his bow. He pointed it at her, and for a second she thought he was going to shoot at her when he let the arrow fly, but it flew right past her and struck an archer on one of the other towers. He fell to the ground.

"You can't take all of them alone!" she yelled, and abruptly ducked when another arrow sailed toward her. It was quickly followed by three more, which she had to use a blast of air to block.

"You need to put out the fires below," he said, staring off into the direction of his enemies. He had the highest point out of all of them, but he was clearly outnumbered. He would only be able to win with every ounce of his skill, and he couldn't afford to have anyone to watch out for. Apparently, what he said to her worked, because she flew off grudgingly, swinging her staff to block any arrows that rained after her.

It was difficult for him to see in the darkness. Though it was not nighttime, the weather effects made it complicated. He kept low to the shingles of the roof, peering over the edges for any sign of his enemies. Apparently, they still knew he was up there, and sent up high arcs of arrows to take him down. Simple dodging cleared that minor annoyance. From their strikes, he calculated the distance, wind speed and route, and direction the arrows were coming from, hastily coming up with the precise angle and location of the enemy archers. He followed the trajectory of a second arrow from the same archer, and copied it easily. No arrows came from that direction again.

Unfortunately, he would not be able to keep his sniping position the whole time. The others had noticed that a few of their comrades had fallen, and quickly went to eradicate their foe. Longshot recognized the threat, procured some rope, and tied it to an arrow. He hastily aimed his bow to another of the spires, and released the arrow. It struck precisely on the highest point. He tugged it quickly to see if it was taut, and jumped, swinging over to one of the other spires. The others also shifted their positions, shooting arrows at him as they jumped off of walls. He easily shot most of them out of the air, and struck another one of the archers' bows, completely rendering him useless. One of them caught the arrow out of the air. He was forced to move his position again.

As he moved, he realized a fatal mistake he was making. They were trying to trap him into being caught in the middle, lower than the roof of the center spire so he'd be forced to go into freefall. They moved to all of the surrounding spires and prepared to shoot him down. He tried to fix it at the last moment by making a short, high swing of the rope, easily bringing him up unto the spire he started from. Two were able to shoot him from his current position unimpeded, so he had to quickly remedy that. He strung two arrows to his bow, judged the correct distance they were apart, and shot them both in their preferred arms.

Suddenly, he felt a searing pain in his shoulder. He had miscalculated. Another quickly moved to fill their fallen comrade's position, and shot him as he took down the other two. Blood seeped from the arrow wound, and he was forced to switch arms. While it wasn't his preferred way of fighting, he practiced for such a circumstance, and he was still a competent archer, if not at his best. He shot toward the enemy again, but that arrow was meant only as a distraction. He quickly fished in his pocket for one of his small, but rarely used, explosives. He was prepared for anything. He tied it to the head of his arrow and shot at the archer. The Yu Yan realized the attack too late, and was sent spinning off of the tower.

"You're pretty good, kid," he suddenly heard a voice above him. He looked up. One of the archers was on his same spire, directly on top of him. Longshot glared, but said nothing. "That's powerful archery in your blood. Where'd you get it? Perhaps you'd even be lucky enough to have the privilege to join us. Join the ranks of the Yu Yan, the elite. I'd say you're good enough."

"No," Longshot stated, then quickly bent back and shot up at the man. He jumped backwards just in time, but fell back onto the other side of the tower. Longshot turned, quickly facing him. He realized that he was the only one left. The archer, with his mask of war paint, notched another arrow, lighting the tip of this one with flame. Longshot jumped to the side and let loose one of his own arrows. It grazed the shoulder of the man, but he didn't react. As Longshot fell from his dodge, he hit his wounded shoulder and grit his teeth in pain. The man pounced onto the chance to kill him, his face in a snarl for not even considering his offer. He readied his large bow, and was about to shoot when a ball of purple powder struck him in the face. He seemed surprise for a moment, and then dazed, but then he abruptly fell to the slippery roof of the spire, for now it was raining. He easily slid off of it, plummeting to his death.

Longshot realized he was clutching the firm shingles so hard that his knuckles were white. Blood continued to leak out of his wound, which was only aggravated by his fall. Knowing he had to do it, he plucked the arrow from his shoulder, and grunted in pain. He felt lightheaded. The next thing he knew, his head fell against the roof shingles and he was quickly sliding off of the slope. For a moment, he was in free fall, until being caught by someone that was flying. As his eyes weakly closed, he was able to see the long, silky black hair of Ruo-Feng.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Sorry this took so long to get out. Again, as explained above, I had lots of schoolwork. Also, I had to get this chapter out now because I'm going to Mexico on Thursday and won't be back for a couple more days.**

**Read if you're interested. I've decided to include some trivia :)**

'**Arcanum' means 'secret' in Latin, if I remember correctly. Madness, correct me if I'm wrong please, so I don't look like an idiot XD**

**I've planned Longshot's fight scene with the Yu Yan from the very beginning. I couldn't wait to write it.**

**Nodoka's full name means something along the lines of 'quiet spear.' From the beginning, I planned for him to have a surname. This was the best place in the story to include it.**

**Keioushi's means 'strong bull,' which is an inside joke with my friends. He was also almost named Oushikei.**

**Lani's flower shop is similar, in my mind, to the Yamanaka flower shop in **_**Naruto**_**, but this was accidental until I reread the scene. Lani being blonde has nothing to do with Ino!**

**The name Lani came from an axe-wielding bounty hunter in Final Fantasy IX, who, besides the name, shares little with my airbender.**

**I won't update "Distorted Reality" until I get back from my vacation. Sorry! Oh, and the concluding scene with Lee will be concluded next chapter.**

**(1) _hanbok_: South Korean dress; Song wears one in "The Cave of Two Lovers" and in this story.**

Please review!


	13. The Machinations of Long Feng

**Author's Note: Sorry this took so long, I didn't even realize the update gap. I've been getting lazy with my writing lately...**

**But I have some good news. In addition to the trequel to this story where I will write about the adventures of the Gang's children, I'm planning a fourth story about the next Avatar. I'm thinking of a time-travel fic for that one, where we can see all of the legends and lore right at the source. Perhaps we'll experience the story of the first Avatar or the love story of Oma and Shu. I'm still not sure how I'll do it all, though. Like I said, it's still in the planning stage.**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 13: The Machinations of Long Feng_

Zuko pondered the small, odd boy as the group of seven ate a quick lunch. His messy hair and large ears were the object of Meng's attention constantly, but Aang and Katara seemed relieved and happy for her.

At the conclusion of the Avatar Gang's fight against June, Jojo, and their Shirshu, Lee practically begged to join them on their mission. He strived to be a hero. He worshipped Aang, along with Meng, which unnerved the young Avatar. Of course, with his kind nature he didn't mind, but Zuko would have found it irritating. Aang was essentially his role model. His only response to the younger boy's offer was to ask his parents first. Despite seeing the battle the six were in, neither of them thought that it would be dangerous, with them all being kids. Besides, he had the Avatar, the Fire Lord, a master waterbender, earthbender, firebender, and swordsman to watch out for him. They were comforted by the fact that they were also traveling with a young girl. Neither Aang nor Katara had the heart to tell Lee or his parents that their travels were usually dangerous, not wanting to upset the woman. After helping the small family, she had become extremely motherly to all of them, and probably would have threatened them not to leave if she found out.

After living a strict life as leader of the Fire Nation, Zuko delighted in irresponsibility.

After the fight on the farm, June and Jojo disappeared, but not before the Kissing Bandit stopped to give Aang a farewell kiss. She was lucky she got out of there so fast.

Toph was enraged.

Lunch was a quick affair, as they wanted to get to Omashu with the utmost speed. They rested rarely, only for short nighttime naps. They did most of their resting on Appa. With the seven of them on one bison, things were starting to get cramped again. Zuko ached for Bahamut's company, if only to ride alone and free, or with Katara, like they used to. Lee was, as predicted, exhilarated by the flying, but once he noticed Zuko watching him, he quickly sobered. He still seemed to strongly dislike him, even though his mother and his father enjoyed his company, or at least tolerated it and respected him.

The mountains that the great Earth city was situated in came into their view, with the very tip of the Palace poking through. The kids guessed that the Arcanum was most likely an underground movement, and the soldiers of Omashu and the Governor, Mai's father, were still in control of the city and keeping order. The Fire Nation man was still in control of the city because he proved to be a decent leader overall, despite his curfews and Fire Nation soldiers patrolling the streets. While he was no longer permitted to do that, he was allowed to keep his position until King Kuei appointed a new leader.

The bison tiredly landed on the path a good distance away from the city. Zuko kept close to Katara as they walked on the narrow bridge to the gates. Aang and the others followed behind. Their plan was to speak to the Governor and see what he knew before doing anything else. The guards stood erect, but as they approached, one held out his weapon.

"Stop!" the other shouted. "What is your business here?"

"We have come to see the Governor. I am Fire Lord Zuko," he answered, bowing respectfully.

"And I am Avatar Aang," the young boy said. Both of the guards got into fighting stances.

"You are under arrest," the first guard said. Jet and Toph looked ready to fight.

"And who says?" Jet asked him angrily.

"By order of the King, the Avatar and his companions are to be taken into custody," the second guard said, a little fearfully. Zuko himself got into a stance, as well as his sister. The King? Who could that be? "Stand down!"

A fight looked like it was going to start, but before any blows could be traded, Aang stepped into the middle. "Let them take us. Let's hear what this King has to say." The first guard, an earthbender, sunk all of their feet into the ground, and bound their wrists. Toph snorted, while Jet was fuming. Lee looked frightened, while Meng was nervous.

* * *

There was a scarce amount of people on the street as they were led through town. Most of the splendor of Omashu was gone. None of the people had smiling faces. Some of the buildings and mail delivery slides were in shambles. Aang looked around sadly. Who was this King, and what had he done to this town? He wished Bumi was here.

They stopped once when the soldiers guiding them were pushing Azula along, frustrating her to no end. "Get your hands off of me, if you know what's good for you," the Princess said darkly. They put a safe distance between her and them after that. Katara also seemed angry, yet confused, while Toph looked almost the same as Azula. Lee and Meng were still frightened. Only Aang and Zuko were calm and collected. They would settle this.

They were led all the way to the Palace, which felt so far to Aang. He had no idea what awaited them, yet for some reason he sensed great foreboding. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to give themselves up to this potential enemy... Did the Governor that Zuko appointed crown himself King? He didn't know. He had never met the man. Oddly, as they entered the Palace, it seemed the same as ever. The royal tapestries were hung on the great walls. Ornate carvings greeted them as they walked. The whole place looked as it should have. This King obviously cared more for himself than the city...

They were pushed into the Throne Room, where the throne itself was vacant. They looked around. The soldiers kicked the back of their knees, making them all fall.

"We're royalty too, you know," Azula said angrily to the soldiers. She was ignored. Servants and a handful of soldiers came in, followed by a colorfully garbed man.

"Bow down for the arrival of the King of Omashu!" the latter announced. All of their heads turned to look as the heavy stone doors to the sides of the throne opened. The servants and soldiers put their foreheads to the floor in respect, while the announcer kneeled. Aang held his breath as he walked in.

"You!" Toph yelled angrily, standing up and immediately releasing herself easily from her stone bonds. Aang did the same.

"Long Feng!" Jet growled threateningly. The robed earthbender smugly sat down on the throne, grinning down at them. He directed his stare to Azula.

"Now who's on the throne, and bowing at my feet, Princess Azula?" he asked.

"What are you doing?" Aang yelled to him. "You're supposed to be dead!"

"Me and Malu killed you!" Toph shouted. The soldiers moved to silence them, but Toph and Aang pushed them out of the way.

"You are wrong," Long Feng said, his voice becoming darker. "You didn't do it correctly. You are all childish fools, trying to play rulers of the world."

"How is this possible?" Katara asked him, anger in her voice. This couldn't be... She saw him thrown through the Fire Temple walls herself! The man seemed to enjoy the power he had recently acquired. He had a purpose that was beyond just snatching the throne of Omashu. "You're... you're in the Arcanum!"

"He's their leader," Azula said. Her words struck a loud, deadly chord in all of them. They were led by Long Feng and his cunning. He was the new reason for chaos and murder in the world. Jet, Azula, and Toph had a personal vendetta against him.

"What do you want? What is the Arcanum's purpose?" Zuko asked him. The soldiers stood next to the group awkwardly, awaiting orders. Aang and Toph broke the rest of the group's bonds, expecting a fight sometime soon.

"You are all greater fools if you haven't figured it out yet," Long Feng said to them. "Haven't you noticed all of the people I've sent after you and your friends? You're too late to do anything now. I have roots everywhere. My people are all throughout the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, and Water Tribes. You can do nothing to stop us."

"I see what you're doing!" Meng suddenly yelled, surprising them all. "You're making people think that the other Nations are the cause of all of the troubles! You're trying to start another war! You killed my parents!" She ran up to him before the soldiers could grab her, tears streaming down her face. Before she could reach him, however, she was easily bound by the ankles by him.

"You're only a child," Long Feng scoffed. "What can you possibly do to me?"

"This!" Lee shouted out, and the next thing everyone knew, a knife soared through the air, making a rip in the clothes on the leader of the Arcanum's shoulder, where blood flowed. Long Feng was enraged. Zuko, Aang, Katara, Toph, Jet, and Azula moved to surround the boy as the soldiers started to close in on them. The servants and the announcer hurried out of the room, while Dai Li agents filled their places. Zuko looked at the knife as it clanged to the floor. It wasn't the one he had given him, but instead it was a standard Earth Kingdom military knife. He must've stolen it from the guards as they were led in. He smirked. That sneaky little thief.

"Imprison them," Long Feng ordered, putting a hand over his shoulder. The loyal agents moved to comply with that order, when Aang shouted out.

"Why do you want this war? It's over! We finally have peace!"

"You fail to see the point, but the girl was right," Long Feng stated. "There will, of course, be confusion and finger-pointing. The Nations will be wary of all of the others, and the hatred will grow, and I will take my rightful place as King of Ba Sing Se, when I am needed most! My accomplices will take control of the other Thrones in the other Nations." Here, three more people stepped into the room, one of which they recognized.

The first was a woman, dressed in the clothes of a Northern Water Tribe waterbender. She wore a veil over her mouth, but her malicious, cold blue eyes were apparent to all. The second man was a very muscular firebender, by the looks of his clothing. He had a Fire Nation insignia in his topknot. The last person was one they detested—a sandbender of the Si Wong Desert, Ghashiun's brother Krag.

"I will essentially be the ruler of the whole world," Long Feng finished, reveling in the glory of his seemingly unstoppable plan. Aang's eyes were wide with horror. He had failed the world again. The only people who could stop him were in his very hands. They were fools to walk right into his trap. The soldiers and Dai Li slowly surrounded them and moved in, ready to defeat them. Toph quickly kicked up Meng toward them, where she was pushed next to Lee, where she might be a bit safer. All of their backs were to each other, not ready to accept defeat without a fight... "Sirena, Krag, Yao, get them!"

The walls suddenly exploded out towards them. Aang and the others threw their hands in front of their faces to protect them from the rocks and rubble, and then slowly put their heads up to see what happened. Dust covered everything.

"You two, again?" Toph asked. He sensed the annoyance in her voice. Aang stretched out his own senses, feeling the familiar vibrations of the two people.

"I told you, for the last time, I'm unpredictable!" Jojo the Kissing Bandit said, attacking the soldiers with earthbending. The Avatar Gang took this as their cue to attack. June and her Shirshu rampaged into the chamber, the beast flicking its long tongue and felling many foes. Aang smiled as he fought alongside Toph and Jojo. It seemed his words turned her for the better—but what about June? He thought she seemed very cold. He would have to talk to her later, if he could. Slates of stone circled the Avatar, slicing out at soldiers and blocking weapon attacks. The three earthbenders faced Long Feng's six Dai Li agents, who jumped up on the pillars and bombarded the three with blocks of stone.

Katara used a thin stream of water to deflect blows instead of a larger quantity because of the lack of moisture in the air. Zuko and Azula were both next to her surrounding the defenseless Meng and Lee with their jets of blue flame, used effortlessly by both of them. She looked at Zuko in admiration because of how far he had progressed with the advanced skill in such a short time. Aang had done the same, but everything came easily for the Avatar. Deciding she was next to useless in this battle, she turned to the younger kids.

"Guys, we have to get you out of here! It's too dangerous!" She flung her mane of brown hair over her shoulder and out of her eyes. Meng and Lee looked hesitant, but they both nodded. She grabbed them by the wrists and ran out through the only opening in the room—the one June and Jojo made. Just as she was about to leave the Throne Room, however, a thin wisp of water smacked her in the chest, making her stumble backwards. Katara gained her bearings just in time to see Sirena, now identified as a waterbender, jump in front of her. The Northern Water Tribe girl drew water from the two pouches on her hip, hardening it into icy needles. Katara gained control of them as they flew at her, spinning around and sending them back.

"You're the great Master I've heard about?" Sirena asked her. "I've fought one of your pupils. He was commendable, but I'd like to see the real thing!"

Katara narrowed her eyes. She fought Shuang. She summoned what little water she could from the air and got into a stance. She almost tripped when she realized her feet were bound by sand which was slowly creeping up her legs. Krag the sandbender was slowly immobilizing her with a cold, cruel smirk on his face. Katara wriggled at an attempt to free herself, when Yao, the large Fire Nation man, came up in front of her. He opened his mouth wide, where a small flame flickered to life and grew. He was about to incinerate her when she couldn't defend herself!

"Hah!" Lee shouted, running forward and stabbing Krag in the thigh with Zuko's knife. The man howled in pain and hit Lee in the face with the back of his hand. The sand around Katara's legs fell, and she moved out of the way just as a fireball from Yao's mouth nearly hit her. She quickly lashed out at Krag before he could hurt Lee further. The boy stood up rigidly holding the bloodied knife ready, standing protectively in front of Meng. The six heard a loud screech, and Momo flew into the room and perched on Meng's hair.

"A waterbender without her water and two little kids. What can you possibly do against us?" Yao asked her condescendingly. The next thing he knew, he received a face full of lemur when Momo tackled him, increasing his momentum with a small burst of air. The firebender stumbled and fell back, as Meng jumped up and cheered.

"Go Momo!"

"Commander Yao? He's a joke," Azula said, stepping up next to Katara. The waterbender looked at her. "He's just a cruel, weak man who basks in his own power. I'll deal with him."

"What about the others?" Katara asked her. Zuko, Aang, Toph, Jet, June, and Jojo were holding off the Dai Li and the members of the Arcanum, who rushed into the Throne Room from the side doors. They all wielded an assortment of weapons, including bending.

"We're paving the way out of here," the Princess General answered, shooting a ball of blue flame from her palms. Yao blocked it with a ball of fire from his mouth, standing up quickly. Sirena rolled her eyes at him.

"You take the waterbender, Sirena! Krag, you deal with those puny wimps," Yao ordered.

"Shut up. You walk and talk like you own the place," Sirena said, annoyed, crossing her arms. Yao fumed.

"Just shut up and deal with her!" Yao sent another fireball at Azula, who dodged cat-like. Katara went past her to fight off Sirena with her meager supply of water. _I really have to carry around a water skin again_, Katara thought. She stopped doing so when she learned how to conjure water out of thin air. Just then, she thought of a quick and easy way to finish the skilled waterbender. Not long before learning how to make her own water, Katara discovered the ability to control the water in people's bodies. It was during her fight against General Zin, Ozai and Iroh's youngest brother, during her fight against him on the invasion of the Solar Eclipse. While the skill was stronger during the Full Moon, she was able to perform it whenever she could. She dubbed it "bloodbending."

She reached out her hands and felt the water within the girl easily, just as she was making curved blades of ice for close-combat with Katara. Her eyes widened when she could no longer run towards Katara with her weapons, and she looked fearful when she couldn't do anything. Katara lazily held out an arm, and Sirena did the same. Katara's face was solemn. She didn't like doing this often, but in dire situations it was necessary. And now she had to protect Meng and Lee, who were trying to fight Krag. She sent Sirena after Krag, attacking him with the knives of ice. He looked surprised—a rare emotion on his face—but he just dodged. Katara's movements became a dance as she tried to attack him with her puppet. She didn't register the younger children's shocked looks as she concentrated solely on taking down the sandbender.

Krag moved to attack Sirena with a blade of sand, which cut towards her. Katara clumsily moved Sirena out of the way, her arms and legs waving like a rag doll. Her awkward movements and her own, weird dance was almost haunting. Sirena's bladed tonfas slashed out at him, cutting the sandbender on the arm. Katara tried to think of a move to finish him. Her bloodbending didn't last forever against other waterbenders. She did not want to stab the man to death, anyway. Just as she was thinking of her predicament, Jet arrived and swept out his leg, elbowing the sandbender in the head and knocking him out before he hit the ground. Katara sent Sirena colliding into the wall, where she also fell.

In Azula's battle, Yao released a wide fan of fire from his mouth, but the firebending Princess cut through it with her own jet of blue fire. Balls of fire erupted from his mouth and hands at a furious pace. It was a chore to dodge them. He would be a challenge for Iroh, Azula thought. She released a horizontal arc of fire, which he ducked under, and continued his onslaught. She jumped, dodged, and rolled out of the way of each one, trying to make her way closer to him. She held her hands over one another, palms facing each other, and a whirling disc of blue fire came to life between them. She flung it out at him, then followed it up with quick blasts of red flame to block his escapes. He released a large, burning hot fireball from his mouth right before the attack was going to hit him as a small chance of defense, which instigated an explosion. Azula smirked. That attack worked well. Of course, all of her attacks did, but she copied that one from Malu.

"Appa's waiting outside! Let's go!" Aang yelled out to them, speeding by as soon as the three foes fell. Zuko and Toph followed right behind him, and June and Jojo on the Shirshu right behind them. Katara, Jet, and Azula waited for them all to pass, bringing up the rear with Meng and Lee between them. They ran down the long hallway and burst through the double doors of the Palace entrance. Appa was there, as Aang said, but he was fighting off soldiers with his tail. Aang, Toph, and Zuko swept them all away, and ran onto the bison's saddle. Katara, Azula, Jet, Meng, and Lee followed them as fast as they could. Aang was about to depart, but he hesitated.

"What are you two going to do?" he asked June and Jojo.

"Just go, we'll follow," the bounty hunter answered, letting out a short 'yah,' and a flick of the reins to get the Shirshu going. Appa took to the sky, keeping level with the Shirshu. The beast's light-footed jumps aided it greatly as it hopped off the roofs of buildings and ran along the mail delivery system. The Omashu soldiers launched large boulders at them, which the two creatures dodged. One especially large one seemed like it was going to hit Appa, but Aang jumped from the saddle and crumbled it to pieces with a swing of his staff. He seemed to jump off of the air and back to the saddle. He had a look of anger on his face as they fled from the Palace.

"What'll we do now?" Toph asked him.

"Let's just leave the city, quickly!" Katara yelled to him, including June. Aang swore vengeance against Long Feng for nearly destroying his oldest friend's city. He had to protect it for Bumi. The bison and all of its passengers flew over the wall, while the Shirshu jumped clear over it and out of the city.

* * *

"It's been a while since the last time I was here," Sokka said to the others as Yanna the Sky Bison flew down to their destination, the Southern Air Temple. It would be their last resting point until they got to the Southern Water Tribe. The Temple's blue spires were unique among the other Air Temples, and pleasantly familiar to Sokka. It was their first stop in the beginning of this whole adventure. The day that he and his sister found Aang was the day that changed his whole life.

Malu landed Yanna in the front of the Temple, and Sokka and the others jumped off of her. He stretched and looked at the statue of Monk Gyatso.

"I've never been to this Temple," Malu said, looking around eagerly.

"This is where Aang grew up, isn't it?" Haru asked. The earthbender almost always wore his gourd of sand now. He was becoming exceptionally skilled at bending sand.

"We made such excellent time!" Sokka said, proud of himself.

"Okay, enough talking. Let's set up camp," Shuang said, clapping his hands together to get their attention.

"Aw, you're no fun," Jin said to him, sticking out her tongue.

"Not yet! I want to look around!" Malu exclaimed. She promptly ran off, and Haru followed her. Yanna suddenly let out a loud, low groan, and rolled onto her back. Her tongue lolled out. Malu stopped short and walked over to her, patting her stomach. "What's wrong, girl?" Yanna groaned again, and Malu suddenly felt a very strong kick from inside of her. "Oh, oh! It's time!"

"Time for what?" Sokka asked, confused.

"It's time for Yanna to have her babies!"

"Here?! Now?" Sokka said, unable to hold in his outburst. "Can't it wait?"

"Nope, they're coming now! I'm so excited!" Malu exclaimed happily.

"Need some help?" Suki asked. Jin joined her, nodding eagerly.

"Actually, yes. I can deliver them—it's been done before at my village. Suki, I want you here to help me. Jin, you put the babies up to her afterward. Shuang, get some water. Haru, make a small pen for her or something. Sokka, go find some blankets!" Malu ordered. "Hurry!"

Sokka and Shuang ran off to do what she told them, while Haru bended a short wall all around the bison. Sokka looked for any spare blankets he could find in their luggage, throwing everything out as he dug. He grinned triumphantly as he found what he was looking for. He was about to run back to them, but Suki sternly told him to put everything back in the bags. He sighed, but did what she told. He did not want to incur her wrath. Delivering babies was something girls got so passionate about, for some reason.

When Sokka was finally done cleaning his mess, he brought the armful of blankets over to Malu just as one of the babies was coming out. Sokka fainted.

* * *

"You know, that wasn't so bad," Sokka said, once the whole ordeal was over, two hours later. Yanna had a total of four calves. Suki was holding one in her arms, and he had his arm around her. It was sleeping. "They're actually kind of cute." It was pure white except for a thin dark stripe going down its back, which would one day become its arrow. It yawned.

"Maybe one day we can have children of our own," Suki said, smiling up at him. He smiled back at her, his wonderful, loving wife. They were still young, but they had long lives ahead of them. They were making peace for their children to grow up in, one day.

"Someday," he said to her. The young bison stirred in her arms, and cried out for its mother. The Kyoshi Warrior lowered it down with its siblings to nurse.

"Hmm... What should I name them?" Malu asked suddenly, turning to Haru. He looked surprised and baffled.

"I don't know," he answered.

"How about something with meaning? They _are _the first bison born since the end of the war, you know," she told him.

"Shouldn't it be up to whoever adopts them?" he asked, as he watched Yanna lick them ceaselessly.

Malu frowned. "I guess you're right. But when will that be? There aren't enough airbenders around to adopt them," she said sadly.

"Don't worry, we'll restore your race. There will be airbenders all over the world one day," he comforted her.

"That could take years. We'll need a miracle," she said.

"Listen to me, Malu. I promise I will put all my time and effort into helping your people. I will live among them with you for the rest of my life," he said sincerely, staring into her stormy grey eyes, which shone with happiness. He kissed her lovingly, unable to help himself. She returned it with joyous enthusiasm. Haru held her close as they looked to the horizon, where the glowing red orb of day was setting into night.

* * *

**Author's Notes: I guess I'll end it on a romantic note for you :) Again, sorry this chapter took kind of long, even if the chapter itself feels kind of short. It was fairly important and we got to see Long Feng again (is that even a good thing?) so hopefully you all liked it.**

**Trivia: Haru does not have a mustache in this story. I cannot believe they did that to him.**

**Yanna had four offspring because my dog had four puppies a month ago, and pretty much everything I know about animals giving birth and what they do afterward is from that... experience. I skipped over some of the gross stuff. And yes, Sokka still gets queasy about giving birth.**

**Next chapter: We'll all find out where Nodoka and Mai's group was taken after being captured by the Combustion Man... So please review, and tell me what you think of the time-travel fic, and if you have any ideas for it, I'd love to hear them!**


	14. The Rough Rhinos

**Author's Notes: I have a question for you guys. Do you like the way I separate the two groups in a chapter, as in, for example, Sokka's group for the first half and then Kei's group for the second? I'm going to switch it up this chapter, by having bits and pieces intermixed into the other ones. Tell me which one you like better.**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 14: The Rough Rhinos_

Haru groaned as they drifted along the polar water, wrapping his arms around himself and shivering. They were floating on Yanna, who was going to near the Southern Water Tribe in a very short time, according to Sokka. The warrior was right, which was confirmed when they saw the huge ice walls in the distance, looming closer to them. On the other side was Sokka's own city, rebuilt once the war ended. Chills went up Haru's spine from the cold. It was freezing, perhaps even colder than in the Northern city! Earthbenders weren't built to go to these sorts of places.

Jin was in a similar condition as he was. "Ugh! I can't wait for the warm fires," she moaned.

"Oh, stop complaining. It isn't _that_ cold out here," Malu said, patting the head of one of the bison calves.

"Easy for you to say! You're an airbender!" Haru said to her. Malu stared blankly at him.

"What does me being an airbender have to do with the cold?" she asked him. Haru opened his mouth to retort, but slumped.

"Good point," he mumbled. "Oh, wait! Well, airbenders usually go to high altitudes... and they're used to the cold... I guess..." he said halfheartedly.

"Oh, stop it before you hurt yourself," Suki said to him, grinning.

"Oh, just face it Haru. Malu's just more of a man than you are," Jin said, rubbing her hands together.

"Hey!" Haru and Malu both yelled.

"Guys, help me!" Haru begged to Sokka and Shuang.

"Nope, you're on your own this time," Sokka said. Shuang snickered. As the four continued to bicker, Sokka eagerly awaited to be back at home. He wanted to be with his father again, to laugh and joke and hunt with him. But, more importantly, he had to warn him of the affairs of the world, and Sokka dearly hoped that his home would remain untouched by the rest of the world's troubles.

He was abruptly pulled from his thoughts when something quite heavy landed on his head. He looked up at the white, fluffy mass that was one of the newborn bison, whose large eyes were adorably looking down at him. Sokka scowled, trying to wave it off of his head. "Get off!" As he shook his head, the little creature landed right on his lap, where it promptly sneezed all over him. "Ugh!" he exclaimed in disgust. "Maluuuu, get it off me!"

The others laughed, but Malu floated over to him gracefully. "Oh, you're so boring. Don't you think they're adorable?" she asked him, holding up the calf in question to her own face. Sokka scowled again, wiping off the disgusting muck that was all over him.

"I'm the one steering your bison so you can play with them, so leave me alone!" Well, it was hard work! He had to navigate through the small icebergs, a form of defense copied from the North Pole. As he was getting back to his job, he spotted small Water Tribe boats speeding up to them. He was reminded of his first visit to the Northern City. "Hey, it's our escort!" he said, grinning.

The Northern waterbenders came to a stop next to them, and stared up at Sokka. "Leave, now, if you know what's good for you," one of them said. _What? Did I hear him correctly?_ Sokka thought.

"What are you talking about? I live here!" Sokka said, voicing his thoughts. The others immediately stopped fooling around and looked at the waterbenders.

"Nobody is allowed in the city," another said. "If you do not leave, we will be forced to take action."

"On who's orders?" Sokka demanded. "We are not leaving! Let me see my father!" The others got into defensive stances behind him. "Helloo, are you going to—" He was interrupted by a single, large wave summoned by all of them at once. The six looked up in fear, but Shuang quickly gathered his senses. Taking a deep breath, he thrust his arms forward, wounding the wave and stopping it from drowning them all. It wasn't destroyed enough, however, and they were simply washed with blue, icy cold water. He was able to withstand the force of half a dozen waterbenders. He smirked in satisfaction. Well, he _was_ trained by Katara. "I demand to know the meaning of this!" Sokka shouted at them, spitting the water out of his mouth.

Malu swung her staff at their attackers before they could retaliate, flipping their small boats over while Shuang dried them all. Before Yanna could move, more waterbenders sped out at them from behind the icy obstacles, surrounding them completely. The six looked out at them all, the benders ready to repel their attacks. The ones Malu previously knocked down climbed onto the boats.

Then, as one, all of the waterbenders surrounding them moved their hands as if turning a large, horizontal wheel. The water surrounding the bison began twisting inwards, but more and more of it seemed to be getting sucked into something in the center. "They're making a whirlpool!" Jin shouted out in panic.

"Yanna, let's go!" Malu yelled to her bison. The large creature growled, unable to resist the pull of the water. The bison calves between them all cried with fear.

"They're going to drown us!" Suki shouted. Shuang swung his arms forcefully in the opposite direction of the whirlpool, hoping to dispel it, but all he did was push up a fountain of water that sprayed over them all. Secondary waterbenders not participating in the creation of the whirlpool used the water behind them to create streams that snaked through the air, to prevent them from attacking.

Sokka was in shock. What was going on? This was his home! He was the son of their Chief! Why were they trying to kill him and his friends? Where was Hakoda? Overwhelming anger filled him. He gripped his boomerang so tightly that his knuckles were white. Snarling, he flung it at one of their attackers, knocking him into the water before he could deflect the weapon. It sailed back into his hands. "Who's next?" he growled.

Malu made small, fast circles with the head of her staff, pointing it at one of the enemy benders. Air began circling around it, and she pulled it back like a long, spinning rope. She swung her staff again, bowling over many of the waterbenders. Shuang was redirecting the flows of water sent at them back to their enemies. For all the good they were doing, time was running out. The water was rising up past Yanna's head, but the poor bison was still struggling, keeping it above water so she could breathe. They redoubled their efforts.

Haru bended the sand inside of the gourd on his back to extend to their enemies, biting them with it like a scorpion tail. Most looked confused to see sand in an arctic region, but they attacked him as much as the other benders. Sokka's boomerang continued to take down many in one throw, but for all of the waterbenders that were falling, they kept adding force to the whirlpool. Yanna's head was soon under the water, and there was nothing they could do about it. Malu was fighting desperately for her friend as Shuang continued to reverse the force of the whirlpool. But the bison was still fighting, keeping herself from sinking further or spinning uncontrollably.

The Avatar Gang waterbender suddenly threw his arms down with great force, causing a huge geyser to erupt in front of him. He spread his arms out, lifted a knee, and turned his palms up and then seemed to lift something. He jumped forward onto the water that was rising, and soon a huge wave formed as he surfed on it, riding atop a board of ice. The twenty-foot wave crashed over all of the enemies, washing away a great portion of them. Haru, following the attack, wasn't able to summon up enough of his element, but contributed as much as he could. Tendrils of sand bit at the waterbenders, who were unable to deflect the attack with their own bending. A small whirlwind of sand swept through the others, knocking them off of their boats.

Malu, her grey eyes a true storm of fury, swung her staff with as much power as she could muster at the last remaining waterbender, hitting him with such an immense blast of air that he was thrown backwards several feet into a wall of ice, where he slid into the water. The whirlpool dissipated long before, but she couldn't stand to have someone so important to her harmed. With a great lunge, the bison threw herself out of the water, and then spat a fountain of it out of her mouth. Yanna was unharmed.

"Yanna, I'm so glad you're okay!" Malu cried with relief, gliding over to her best friend's head. She patted her bison above the eye, and the bison rumbled in response that she was okay. Malu closed her eyes as she snuggled into the wet fur with a smile on her face.

Suki, after feeling utterly useless during that battle along with Jin, crawled over to Sokka. "What are we going to do now?" she asked him. The Water Tribe warrior was staring straight ahead at the imperious ice walls that led to his city. Jin morosely looked ahead, sopping wet, but Shuang came up to her, remedying that. Haru held his arm comfortingly around Malu.

"We are going in. I can't leave now. I have to find out what happened to my home," Sokka said determinedly.

"I agree," Shuang said.

"Me too! We'll be behind you the whole way!" Jin said cheerfully.

"I have to pay them back for what they tried to do to Yanna," Malu said.

"We're with you, Sokka," Haru contributed. Suki was silent. She merely put a hand on her husband's shoulder for comfort and support. No words were needed between them.

"Let's go. Yip-yip," Sokka said, clutching the reins. Malu rolled her eyes and sighed.

"That doesn't work, silly!" she chided him, crawling over to sit next to Sokka. "Only Appa does that. Yanna, let's go!" With another low growl and a flap of her tail, Yanna the Sky Bison jumped from the water, where she flew towards the ice wall.

Water Tribe guards were stationed on the wall, but the six bypassed them. As soon as the grand city on the other side came into view, all six mouths dropped open.

Awaiting them on the other side, all lined up in the water, was a fleet of ships ready to go to war.

* * *

Life in Akikaze went on after the attack by the Yu Yan Archers. Funeral services were held for the earthbenders and firebenders that fell (miraculously, none of the Air Theocracy citizens were lost) and repairs were put into action. Kei lamented for the lost soldiers and builders. His own men died protecting the city that they were assigned to, and they proved that they were willing to die for the good of the rest of the world. Even the earthbenders, mere builders of the growing village, were willing to fight. Of course, the archers of the Theocracy and the airbenders fought too, but they were skilled in fighting with range, especially against other archers. An airbender could repel all arrows unless they were overwhelmed.

Kei, Song, Longshot, Smellerbee, and the citizens of the village all helped in the rebuilding and fixing of the damaged caused by the Arcanum's archers. It was relatively peaceful work, and it got Kei's mind off of the disastrous events of a few days before. He simply enjoyed the labor; he missed doing it. At home, he was a General, and they were never required to do such grunt work. But when he was younger, before he was involved with the war and the Avatar, he worked a lot on his father's farmlands. He missed the sun's rays on his back, the heavy lifting, and the plowing and harvesting.

He walked over to help Song, who was trying to lift a block of wood all by herself, and hefted it onto his shoulder. Song smiled at him in gratitude, and felt tingles go through her body upon seeing his shirtless torso. His warm golden eyes winked at her, and his brown hair, just long enough to be tied back, had many loose strands that hung in front of his face. She blushed at his closeness, but held onto the wood as they carried it together. An airbender happily blew a soft breeze over them, as they normally did to cool the workers, and went on her way. Others, mostly the monks and nuns, graciously fed them.

Despite the hardships, the airbenders, and indeed everyone there, felt a sort of satisfaction and happiness in the simple act of working and helping, a release from the death of a few days prior. Thus, they were all unprepared for yet another disastrous calamity.

The wood and stone walls that protected the city exploded, instantly shattering the illusion of peace. Each and every person was abruptly ripped out of their bubble of tranquility, and brought back to the real world. Five figures rushed in through the crack in the wall, all riding komodo rhinos. Kei quickly donned his armor, which was lying nearby, as all of the other people either panicked or raised their weapons.

The Fire General grit his teeth when he remembered that all of the earthbenders were too wounded to fight, and a large portion of his own men were killed in the Yu Yan attack, the remainder of them wounded. He turned to Lani, the airbender and Song's friend. "Go tell Ruo-Feng to use all of the capable fighters to defend the city and protect the wounded," he ordered. She looked at him questioningly.

"What are you going to do?" she asked him, hands on her hips.

"We're going to fight them," he answered, unsheathing his sword. Song lifted her slingshot, Longshot his bow, and Smellerbee her knife. They immediately recognized the five men from their reputations: the Rough Rhinos.

"Let me help you! You'll be outnumbered!" Lani protested, holding her staff out.

"Get outta here," Smellerbee said to her. "You're not ready for fights like these. They're also a part of the Arcanum."

"But I can help!"

"Lani, please..." Song nearly begged to her.

"It's okay, I heard your order, General Kei," Ruo-Feng herself said, coming up to them. "And I agree. We'll leave this in your capable hands. I'm sure Lani can help." Unable to think up another excuse, Kei nodded, and rushed out into the main road to confront the attackers.

* * *

It was then that it struck Sokka how much his home had grown. This fleet was nearly the size of the regular Fire Navy fleets, and would probably best them. When had the population grown so large? Was it really because all of the other Southern Tribes united? Did the addition of some Northern waterbenders help that much? Was it also some kind of outside influence?

They were not attacked as they flew over the entirety of the fleet. Heads simply looked up at them. Sokka noticed that the crews were rather small, but there were still a multitude of women and children back in the city. The four levels of the city were as prominent as ever—the shortest, little above the level of the water, was where the beautiful canals and entrance to the city were. Up above, in the two matching platforms were the trading centers and healing huts, and where people practiced leather or bone-working. The highest circle was home to the ice Palace, normally a warm and inviting place. This time, however, something looked drastically wrong.

"What is going on here?" Malu asked fearfully, looking all around them.

"Maybe this was a bad idea... we should've snuck in," Jin said to them uneasily.

"It doesn't matter... we're going to the Palace. I have to find my father," Sokka said determinedly, his blue eyes cold as ice. Suki's hand on his shoulder tightened.

"You really think he is the one behind this?" she asked him. He didn't answer. Malu flew Yanna right over the three bridges connecting the three upper levels, landing right in front of the Palace. A group of waterbenders wearing anoraks and trousers, the thick clothing of the Water Tribes, came up to them. Others pointed bone weapons at them, and there were a few with steel katanas.

"Let us pass!" Sokka commanded, not wanting to raise a weapon against his own people for no good reason.

"State your reason for coming to the Palace uninvited!" a waterbender yelled out at him.

"Where is Chief Hakoda?" he demanded. One man snickered. "Master Pakku?" They grinned snidely at him. "...Gran-Gran?" he asked meekly. They answered by lashing out at him with water, but the experienced warrior rolled to the side and dodged it, unleashing his boomerang on them before he stood up again.

The large group of waterbenders jumped forward, unleashing a torrent of water on them from the ice on the ground. Haru answered them, using a vortex of the sand from the gourd to send the water splashing to the sides. Shuang pulled down the decorative pillars and totem poles on the sides of them, crashing them down on the enemy. Malu created a wind tunnel on the path to the Palace, throwing many of them off to the sides.

The warriors rushed forward, and Suki and Jin met them with ferocious enthusiasm. Suki easily defended herself against the bone spears, deflecting them with her fans and cutting them in half with her katana before they could blink.

Jin held her katana to her side, the point straight up, in a stance copied from the warrior in front of her. His face was blank as he lunged forward. Jin mimicked the move, attacking him on the opposite side. He moved his sword to intercept the blow, but the Earth Kingdom girl put more strength into the attack. He seemed slightly surprised by her sudden power, but let the blade ride along his edge, leaving her open for a moment. He moved quickly to stab into her, but she smacked him in the side of his head with the hilt of her sword.

Sokka swung his meteorite black sword through the swathe of enemies, clearing a path to the Palace, his home. Blood stained the beautiful ground below him, but he fought to wound, not to kill. Two concussive blasts of air from Malu and Yanna sent a shockwave through the whole area, knocking down everyone, including their allies. Sokka turned to yell at her, but saw that all of their enemies were knocked out, while Haru, Jin, and Suki simply went sliding across the ice. Shuang was rooted into the ground, but he saw the ice kicked up from the ground, created by him, that Malu and her bison sent their enemies into, instantly knocking them unconscious. _Impressive teamwork_, Sokka thought, surprised for a moment. He instantly shook his head. "Let's go!" he shouted to his friends.

The six raced to the impassive wall of ice that served as a door—a device used to let only waterbenders in—and paused only for Shuang to melt it down, then use it as a weapon which floated alongside him as they charged into the Palace. There was no one in the entrance hall, except for the waterfalls, but Shuang, once again proving his usefulness, burst open the huge, carved double doors that led into the Throne room.

The expansive room looked the same as ever. Intricately carved totem poles were set as pillars throughout the icy blue room. Behind the Seat of the Elders were giant, carved whale-dolphins, polar bears, and sea lions. In between them was the Water Tribe insignia. The room, as well as the rest of the Palace, and the city, were designed by members of the Northern Tribe and retained its style. The Seat of the Elders was a step-like formation in the ice, much like in the North, where the Elders sat. The Elders were mostly the old Chiefs of the other tribes, which were now all united as one. They acted as advisors to Hakoda.

While there was previously no throne—the Chief sat equally with his Elders—there was a solid, undecorated throne of ice in front of the Seats.

And sitting lazily upon it was a man Sokka never expected to see again.

* * *

Before setting out on his mission, Zuko told him of the Rough Rhinos. Kei knew they were the cause of many lost lives, but the Fire Lord told him how they looked, their weapon types, and their namesake, the Rhinos on which they rode. They were vigilante Fire Nation troops, and they were the cause for the initial investigations on the Arcanum. Kei knew they were a part of the rebel group. He also knew they were going to come to Akikaze eventually, as Smellerbee had seen of their tracks and planned destination in the ruins of Meng's village. While it seemed they had changed their course for a short while, they had finally come to finish their job.

The five of them—Kei, Song, Smellerbee, Longshot, and Lani—ran to the main road of the village to intercept the attackers and stop them from further ruining the city. As they jumped out into their path, brandishing their weapons, Kei thought they looked rather laughable. Their mounts were impressive and large compared to the five puny humans, and the roughened soldiers atop the beasts openly laughed at them. Kei frowned as he realized that they were outnumbered, yet again. _Where's Longshot? _he wondered, but he was afraid to look around his position. He kept his eyes on their leader, Colonel Mongke.

Standing in front of them now, Kei thought it was a really stupid decision. "We'll have to take them all at once," Kei said to the others, keeping his eyes on Mongke. "We have to keep them from destroying the town. Lani, you get the one with the spear. Smellerbee... the one with the chain. We'll leave the archer up to Longshot, wherever he is. Song, can you handle the one with the explosives?" He quickly and quietly gave out the commands, but turned to Song for his last question. She had her slingshot out and ready, but she took her eyes off their enemies to give him an angry look.

"You don't think I can handle him?" Song asked him, frowning.

"Well, no, but... I mean, I do, you're a good fighter and all..." he stammered.

"There's no time for that," Smellerbee interjected. "Just get the ones Kei gave us, and fight!"

"You kids think you can fight us?" Mongke asked mockingly. "Many have fought us, and lost. Men, let's take this town for the Arcanum!" he shouted, throwing a fist into the air. They charged.

Kei's blade glinted in the sunlight as he held it in front of him, waiting for the beasts to come. The rhinos were quite fast, and they reached them quickly. Kei rolled out of the way of the stampede and threw himself against one of the buildings. Song did the same on the other side, while Lani the airbender jumped straight up into the air. Smellerbee dodged each one of them and their weapons as they tried to swing them at her as they passed. Bloody cuts went along the haunches of the rhinos, matching the color on the girl's knife.

_Damn, that girl's fast_, Kei thought. He ran for Mongke just as Lani came down on the spearman from above, creating an air barrier quick enough not to be impaled by his spear. Her robes and blonde hair fanned out as she dodged his attacks. She was constantly moving as he lunged at her repeatedly. She was quickly becoming overwhelmed. She was a decent bender, but not nearly a master. Kei's judgments were wrong. The spearman was the worst match-up for her to fight, but she didn't know that, and neither did he.

She flipped backwards from his next lunge, but the rhino chose then to charge toward her. Its deadly horns nearly pierced the airbender, but she jumped above it just in time. Unfortunately, the spearman planned for that to happen, and he cut her deeply. Lani was able to land on her feet, but she stumbled. The girl was covered with blood; the pain was nearly blinding her. She yelled out in agony before falling on her back, where she lied motionless.

Song let the pellets loose on the man with the explosives as she chased him through the town and between buildings. He threw bombs behind him, but she dodged them all. The healer never knew it, but her time spent with the Avatar and his friends changed her. She was a warrior, and rather quick on her feet. She pulled the sling back and let it loose, striking him on the head. His armor clanged, and he halted the rhino and turned it around. The beast pawed its feet against the ground, ready to run toward her. She unleashed another pellet, different this time, which exploded with red powder right in the monster's face. It sneezed, roared in pain, and then went berserk. Blinded, the rhino was much more dangerous, attacking the buildings and everything around it wildly. The man on top of it was thrown off. Song worriedly looked around at the damage she unwittingly caused, but also worried for her own safety. She quickly glanced to the left and noticed a pile of crates against a house, and she climbed up on top of them, where she safely got to the roof.

She fired two pellets in quick succession, designed to knock out someone. She suspected that the rhino needed much more to take it down, and quick whiffs of purple powder which exploded on its head on impact sent it sprawling on the ground. The man was knocked out cold during the rhino's rampage. She took rope out of her white pack, now dirty and travel-stained, and went to tie up the man.

* * *

"Kinto!" Sokka shouted, pointing his finger threateningly at the man on the throne. How could this be? "You're supposed to be dead!"

The cruel trickster stood up from his seat of ice, and grinned maliciously at them all. "It seems you fought through the guards," he mused.

"How'd you get to the Southern Water Tribe?" Shuang asked him furiously. "What do you want with them? We killed you!" The waterbender was not able to accept that one of his personal enemies was alive.

Years ago, Kinto was once his friend. Both waterbenders grew up in the Northern Water Tribe, trained together, and got in trouble together. They were friends until the day their training brought them separate ways—Shuang under Master Pakku, and Kinto under another prodigious teacher. Later, Kinto was banished under mysterious circumstances.

It wasn't until several years later that Shuang saw him again. After the Army of the Avatar reclaimed Omashu, the troops went through the Serpent's Pass to take back Ba Sing Se. Somewhere in between those two places, Kinto joined them again. He played cruel tricks on everybody he saw in good humor, but when the army was nearly spotted by a Fire Navy ship, Kinto rose up to the challenge to take them single-handedly. Shuang, knowing he would never beat them all, took Sokka and went to help him. When they arrived on the deck of the utterly destroyed ship, a true horror met their eyes. Kinto killed all of the soldiers in the cruelest ways imaginable, and revealed to them the circumstances of his banishment and the murders of all types of benders he fought during his travels around the world. He killed anyone he defeated in battle. Sokka and Shuang fought him shortly afterwards.

"Whatever," Kinto said in an offhand manner. "Well, the Arcanum noticed that the Southern Tribe was growing in size, blah, blah, blah, and wanted to control them. He sent me and some Northern waterbenders right under your nose while you celebrated the end of the war, and the minute you left, we gathered followers and took over. It was pitifully easy, I have to say."

"What does the Arcanum want?" Suki demanded, holding her small katana out in front of her.

"Come on, you don't understand it yet? Meh, I'll let you figure that out yourselves," Kinto said to her boredly. "What _I _want is totally different. My people rejected me, so I went to the Arcanum. I realized we had a common goal, and they asked me to take over this place. With this army I've built up, we'll crush the rest of the world," he said, clenching his fist. "It'll be too easy. The Earth Kingdom will be first. They ignored us completely during the war. Sokka, didn't your people need help? The Earth Kingdom never gave it to you!" he persuaded. "The weakling Air Theocracy will be next. Those cowards hid from the war for far too long. And the Fire Nation will be last, before they can attack us again!"

"But the war has ended!" Jin blurted out at him.

"They're just saying that to get our guard down," Kinto retorted. "But before we can do all that, I'll need your help, guys." The tone of his voice changed to that of friendliness. "The Avatar would be great to have. With him, the Southern Water Tribe could rule the world!" He laughed insanely.

"You're crazy," Sokka said to him. "Where's Hakoda? Where's my dad?!"

Kinto immediately calmed himself, and glared at Sokka. "We locked up all who opposed us," he said darkly. "You'll be next if you don't join with me!"

"This doesn't make sense," Shuang said between clenched teeth, shaking his head. "We killed you!"

"You were wrong to assume I was dead," Kinto said, giving the waterbender his icy glare. "I'm a waterbender, did you really think you could drown me?"

_I hit him with... such force! How could he have survived it?!_ Shuang thought desperately.

"So are you with me, or not?" Kinto asked with a tone of finality.

"There's something seriously wrong with you," Haru said, crouching low into a stance. "Our answer's no."

"So be it," Kinto said darkly. Water rose from the ground below him, circling around his hands. It rushed out at them, but with a big crash, Shuang thrust his hand out and blocked the blow, sending it all around them. The two waterbenders melted the ice around them, constantly adding to their water supplies as they dueled. Ice spikes slid across the floor at Suki, but she jumped over to dodge. Little needles of ice met her above the spikes, and she struggled to make her body totally horizontal to block both attacks. She landed gracefully on the icy ground, fitting for a Kyoshi Warrior.

She rushed at the dark waterbender with her katana, cutting through his watery whips as she tried to reach him. She was baffled by the amount of control the murderer showed—he was fending off her, Shuang, and Sokka all at once. She had no idea what the others were doing, but there was no time to worry about them now. Her katana sliced through the tendrils of water that threatened to stab her, but they were all around the young woman. Her thick leather armor was the only thing protecting her now.

Snow and ice converged on Kinto as Shuang fought against him. Most of Kinto's concentration was on him as Shuang sent deadly ice spikes at him, determined to avenge the numerous benders he had killed. Hearing an unfamiliar grunt behind him, Shuang's blue eyes widened, and he quickly raised his hand in that direction. Hastily looking behind him, the waterbender saw a Water Tribesman soar into the Palace wall, then slide to the floor unconscious. The spearman tried to attack him from behind, but more and more warriors rushed into the Throne Room.

Shuang met Sokka's gaze for a moment, and they both nodded. They were rapidly becoming outnumbered, and they needed to get out of there. Shuang didn't know how he did it, but Kinto had most of the city on his side. Sokka signaled to Malu.

The airbender nodded, took a deep breath, and ran in tight, fast circles. Wind was kicked up around her, and when she abruptly halted, she pushed the tornado at the Tribesmen, bowling them all over. She and Haru sent quick blasts of air and sand missiles at anyone left in her wake, and led the way out, clearing a path for the rest of them. Jin and Suki took down anyone they missed, and Sokka and Shuang took up the rear. Yanna, waiting outside, hobbled after them as they passed, trying to get to an open area so she could fly away. Her four calves huddled together on her back in fear. It appeared that the Sky Bison fought off many soldiers to protect her young, as she was scratched and roughened up with an expression of anger.

Malu vanished into thin air, immediately appearing a moment later on her bison's head. They needed to get out of there fast, and she preferred that method for speed. Sokka and the others rushed up the bison's tail, and the moment Shuang stepped off of the ice, the bison flapped her tail, sending him sprawling into her saddle. She pumped the air currents under her and took to the sky. There was a collective sigh of relief as they flew out of range of the waterbenders' attacks.

"What are we going to do now?" Haru asked, looking around at the rest of them. Sokka and Shuang were both silent, mulling over the events they had just witnessed. Malu was checking over Yanna and her young, while Jin looked around hopelessly.

"What can we do?" Suki asked. She turned to Sokka. "Do you have any ideas?" No answer.

"Oh no!" Malu exclaimed. "Yanna's hurt! There's an ice spike in her leg! Shuang, can you take it out?" No answer. "Shuang!" Her shout seemed to take him out of his stupor, and the ice melted and fell away. Blood followed. "Can you heal it?" she asked him, patting her bison worriedly.

"I can't heal," he said distractedly, staring off at the Palace. Malu bit her lip, and then exploded with anger.

"WELL I CAN'T DO A DAMN THING, EITHER! STOP BEING ALL MOPEY OVER THAT WATERBENDER AND TRY!" she screamed. Shuang looked unfazed. One of the baby bison cried.

"I've never healed anything in my life," he said.

"I can try," Jin suggested. "Living alone in Ba Sing Se, I had to learn about some medicines."

"Thank you, Jin," the airbender said sweetly.

"There's got to be something we can do," Sokka said angrily, leaning his chin against his fist.

* * *

Smellerbee ducked, dodged, and jumped between the man's chain weapon. It was an uncommon weapon, but it was deadly in its own right. She was not totally at a disadvantage, however. The man's rhino was injured from her kukri. The agile ex-Freedom Fighter soon began to tire—the fight had been going on for several minutes already. During the fight, they had separated from everyone else. She had to get up close to him... he was a mid-range fighter, but she was comfortable in close quarters.

She jumped up, and using the rhino's horn as leverage, jumped even higher and kicked him in the face. She landed right behind him on the beast's haunches, and before he could react, cut the straps that held the saddle on the rhino and kicked him off of his mount. He landed hard on the ground, and the rhino, free of most of the weight, ran from the fight. Smellerbee agilely jumped from the beast and landed in a crouch.

The renegade rose with a grunt, pulling his chain with him. It was just the two of them, then, and as she looked into his eyes, she felt hatred welling up inside her. This man was one of those who pillaged towns, destroyed villages, and orphaned children. He killed Jet's parents. Because of him, her friend had to live on his own. But also... this man, and the other Rough Rhinos, was the reason the Freedom Fighters were created, to fight against the tyranny of the Fire Nation. Jet gave her and many other orphaned, hungry children a place to live and call home. So, in an odd way, she had him to thank for giving her a reason to live and fight.

The chain swiped out at her again, but she rolled under it and went for the opening in his defenses. She stabbed him directly in the abdomen, and in that moment he was finished. In his last throes, he pulled the chain back, straight for her, but she sensed it just in time. She ducked under it and threw out her elbow into his chest, sending him to the ground. He didn't move. She knew he wasn't dead, but he would be soon if he didn't get any medical attention. Luckily, at that moment a group of monks and nuns ran over or jumped from the buildings.

"I'm not going to descend to his level," Smellerbee said to them, wiping her knife clean. "You deal with him." They nodded and brought over a stretcher, and tended to his wounds. "The others are still fighting. I'll need someone to come with me!"

* * *

Out of the corner of his eye, Kei watched as Longshot revealed himself just long enough to shoot down the former Yu Yan member of the Rough Rhinos with absolutely no trouble. The enemy archer didn't even know he was there. Kei didn't dwell on it long, though, because he was distracted by his fight with Colonel Mongke.

The man on the rhino dashed toward him, fire streaming from his fists. Kei knew that if he dodged, the firebender would attack him from the sides. The General dodged long before he needed to, and circled around the rhino and out of the firebender's range as they charged past him. When they came at him again, he rolled dangerously close to the rhino's heavy legs, but slashed the buckles of the saddle with his sword, cutting the firebender loose. The rhino slammed into the wall when Mongke fell, but was completely unharmed. It circled around to join its master.

An arrow whizzed through the air toward Mongke, but the firebender unleashed a stream of flames to devour the projectile without even looking toward it. He smirked with overconfidence.

"I didn't know they made Generals so young these days," Mongke said to him.

"Age does not matter. We are measured by our loyalty to the Fire Nation," Kei responded, his eyes narrowing. This man, and the rest of the Rhinos, was responsible for the destruction of many locations throughout the Earth Kingdom. He knew two people who suffered a loss from them—Jet and Meng. Kei would avenge their losses in their place.

Earth suddenly rose up around the dormant rhino, and Mongke and Kei turned to see who it was. The builders of Akikaze came to the scene, wanting to protect the home of the airbenders they toiled so long to build. Without its unstoppable momentum, the rhino was unable to break free of the strong walls around him. The earthbenders lined up next to Kei, ready to aid him as he fought Mongke. He held up his sword again.

Mongke ran. Kei immediately went after him, and the earthbenders followed. The firebender turned to run among the buildings of Akikaze, but several times he turned out of Kei's sight. When they came to a three-way intersection, the Fire General ordered the builders to split up and search. Kei went with one group, but once again, there was a crossroads. After that, he was reduced to two earthbenders. _Where is he_? Kei thought, frustrated. He ran as fast as he could, even when his lungs began to burn. His head spun as he constantly turned it to look down side alleys, and immediately slid to a stop when he saw the ex-Colonel become unknowingly cornered by them in a dead-end area. Kei's grip on his sword tightened when Mongke unsheathed his own sword.

_Zuko didn't tell me he was a sword specialist! _Kei knew the benefits of using weapons with bending. Most of the time, they strengthened a bender, especially if they were used correctly. Aang and Zuko were perfectly good examples of that. Kei's two earthbending companions attacked first, pulling up square blocks of stone from the ground and launching them at him. The firebender used his straight sword—similar to Kei's—to parry the blows, and retaliated by swinging his sword, giving birth to two arcs of flame at both of them. Short walls defended them from most of the damage. As Mongke was finishing his movements, Kei rushed into the attack, swinging his weapon straight for the man's vitals. The enemy swordsman brought his blade up to block, and quickly. He held up to Kei's two-handed strength with only one hand. The General grit his teeth. He pulled back and swung toward another opening, but Mongke blocked it again, a grin on his face. From there, the two went into an intense dance of blades, never getting past their opponent's defenses. With each clash of swords, there was an explosion of fire that shielded Mongke from Kei's view for a quick moment.

The leader of the Rough Rhinos jumped back, but Kei didn't give him the chance to bend flames at him. Kei went for his legs, but his enemy swept his sword down to block. With his free hand, Mongke attempted to shoot a blast of fire at point-blank range, but Kei ducked his head just in time, feeling the hot flames singe the tips of his hair, even though they were concealed under his helmet. Kei pulled back and stabbed at him, but just before the tip could reach the man's clothing, he brought his sword down and pushed it out of the way. Fire danced around them again, their feet constantly moving, the silver of the blades turned golden in the light of the flames. Neither of them yielded.

Mongke broke the pattern suddenly, plunging his sword into the ground where an explosion of fire immediately followed on impact. Kei was thrown away, where he rolled for a moment and slammed into the side of a building. His eyes were closed and his clothes were singeing. The two earthbenders, feeling helpless, saw the burns running up his arms and legs. Once Kei was out of the picture, the two fought the firebender, hurling boulders at him and not giving him a chance to burn them.

"Stop!" they heard a voice yell. The three turned to look at Kei, who was pushing himself up off the ground. He lifted his sword once again, falling into a stance. "He's mine." Mongke, still smirking evilly, answered his call as soon as possible. He held out his hand and unleashed a sheet of flame, which was thankfully blocked by a stone wall of the earthbenders' doing. Kei jumped over the wall, stabbing downward at Mongke as he fell. He jumped out of the way, and as Kei unstuck his sword from the ground, both of them knew the fight was going to end then.

Mongke threw his sword away, where it clattered to the floor. He confidently held a firebending stance, goading the swordsman on. Kei answered eagerly, running toward him with his sword raised. He sent out a blast of fire, which he dodged by ducking to the side, and a second, which he dodged again. At that moment, he realized Mongke was just close enough to reach with his sword, and he stabbed at him again, which the firebender answered with a blast of flames right to his face. Kei tucked his head under his outstretched arm, not wanting to yield to him, as the flames washed over him and his blade met something. Unable to take anymore pain, he yelled out in agony before seeing nothing but blackness.

* * *

"The village won't be able to take any more attacks."

"We aren't doing too good of a job protecting this place."

"What are you talking about? We wouldn't have been able to do it without you!"

"Because of your help, we have persisted."

"What could the Arcanum want with this town?"

Kei's awareness came back to him at the sounds of their voices, hushed and whispering. He was unable to recognize them all at first, but it was slowly coming back.

"Maybe it's just to cause trouble."

"Longshot? What do you think?" That voice he recognized as Smellerbee.

"They may want the airbenders to stay extinct," his calm voice replied. Kei blearily opened his eyes. Everything was fuzzy for a moment, but it soon cleared. He was able to recognize Song, Smellerbee, Longshot, and Ruo-Feng around his bed. Once his eyes were opened, Song's chocolate brown eyes looked down at him.

"Kei's awake!" she said happily. He smiled up at her. "I was so worried about you."

"How long was I out?" he mumbled.

"Half the day," she replied. "I told you I could look after myself. Look who's wounded," she said with a teasing smile. Memories of the previous hours' events abruptly came back to him, and he sat up quickly

"Where're the Rough Rhinos?" he asked, but pain lanced up his back and shoulders, and he fell back against the sheets. He looked around the room, realizing he was in the Temple.

"Don't do that! You're hurt!" Song reprimanded. Kei looked at his arms and legs, which were covered in bandages. They hurt slightly, but he knew most of the burns were on his back and shoulders, and even his face.

"You killed Mongke," Smellerbee deadpanned. Kei was silent for a moment.

"Good," he said. That man made the Fire Nation look bad, so it was his place to put him down. It was necessary. "The others?"

"They're all wounded, but alive and held by the earthbenders. They won't be going anywhere," Smellerbee replied.

"What are the damages? Is everyone okay?" he asked.

"Calm down," Song said, smiling. "There weren't many more damages and everyone's alright. The only other person who got hurt was Lani," she added regretfully. "She got hurt while fighting the spearman, but Longshot went to help her." She gestured to Kei's side. Sure enough, the airbender was in the bed next to his, propped up and listening to them, her eyes rolling. "She's alright, but I still feel bad. She shouldn't have been there." Kei smiled with relief.

"I'm fine! It's not your fault that I was hurt," she said.

"It is my fault. I am the one who encouraged her to fight with you," Ruo-Feng said sincerely. They didn't respond to her.

"Well, that's good. Can I get up now?" Kei asked Song. She frowned.

"No, you're still hurt! Your burns were really bad, but I kept them from getting worse. It's a shame Katara isn't here, she would have been able to fix them in an instant... You just got lucky that you were wearing your helmet, because without it, most of your hair would have been gone..." Kei listened to her continue to list his wounds and how lucky he was, wondering how she was so different when she had a patient. Her commanding tones were so different than her usual kind gentleness.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Several things here I need to talk about XD Sorry this took so long! I've decided to put off "Distorted Reality" for a while, or at least slow down the updates a bit, in favor of this story. Rest assured, you can expect an update to this before the end of the week:)**

**For those of you who predicted Kinto was going to come back, waay when he came in before the Battle of Ba Sing Se in the Serpent's Pass, I know I went back on what I said! I originally planned to make him stay dead, but I wanted to keep it open just in case I changed my mind. And I did. For those of you who disagree with the Arcanum taking over the Southern Water Tribe, here's my defense—since they're growing, they're a bigger target. Anyway, Kinto is a fun villain to write, and most of you sort of liked him despite his cruelty, so no harm done. Right?**

**I hope things aren't really dragging on. Some of you might think so, but there are a few loose ends I still need to tie up, and the conclusion of this story isn't too far off. The end product will be twenty chapters long, and from here on out, we'll be moving toward that conclusion. I hope you guys stick with it the rest of the way, and continue to enjoy it :)**


	15. The Demon

**Last time: Nodoka**'s group, after camping around a fire and sharing each of their pasts, was captured by the **Combustion Man**. The six of them were carried off in chains to an unknown place. In **Omashu**, **Aang**'s group, along with **June the Bounty Hunter **and **Jojo the Kissing Bandit**, fought off **Long Feng**, who took over the city, and fled before they could be captured. Soon, Long Feng, the leader of the **Arcanum**, is going to make his first move against the rest of the world.

**Warning**: **Minor spoilers in this chapter for those who haven't seen "The Western Air Temple." It's not too big, but it explains where the Temple is and how it was built.**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 15: The Demon_

_I failed again_, Nodoka mused. Why did Zuko think he was ever cut out for this? Several times throughout their short journey, his group was split apart, or someone was captured. He was expected to make all of the decisions, follow the Arcanum's actions, and either do something about it, or report back to the Fire Sages. Now, the six of them—Mai, Ty Lee, Keioushi, Teo, On Ji, and himself—were being brought to their true headquarters in chains.

The youngest in their group, Teo and On Ji, should not have even been there. In the beginning, Teo seemed to think it was some sort of vacation, and despite Nodoka's warnings, insisted that he wanted to go with them. Nodoka thought he would be a burden, but the boy tried hard not to be. But for their captors, he was trying to hinder them in any way possible. He was being pushed along in his wheelchair, and he seemed to hit every bump or rock in the road.

On Ji, the young firebender, was not even supposed to be there. She was kidnapped by the Combustion Man before, from her own town, and Nodoka and the others went to help her and Teo. He knew search parties went out afterward, but they were the only ones with the true information of the enemy's location. Unfortunately, before they could bring her back home, they were captured.

For the most part, their captors were silent, marching them along the terrain of the Fire Nation. For two full days they had been traveling, taking breaks only for eating and sleeping. The Combustion Man didn't say a word, and the others seemed to fear him. Nodoka wondered why the man, obviously a firebender of some sort, allied himself with earthbenders. But, he remembered, this man was a bounty hunter. Bounty hunters did anything for money. The Arcanum also seemed to be a terrorist group with roots in each Nation, or at least the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. But if the rest of the group was right, they were also located in the Water Tribes and Akikaze. It was food for thought, and it was the only thing occupying his time as they walked on endlessly.

When two days finally ended, Nodoka realized they were entering familiar territory. Behind the Palace in the capitol city, there was a troublesome mountain range, sandwiched between the city and the western ocean. If he remembered correctly, during the first invasion of Sozin City, Azula's soldiers passed through here. After a rigorous climb through the dangerous mountains, they found a wide, flat rocky tarmac, and landed on it was a hulking, black airship. Nodoka wondered how it got there—the airships were recent military technology of the Fire Nation, which Fire Lord Ozai planned to use before the war ended; specifically, on the day the Comet was supposed to arrive. After the war, Zuko and the Fire Nation kept them, but how it ended up here, unnoticed by the Generals, Nodoka didn't know. He and Mai glanced at each other, and he knew she was thinking the same thing.

Ty Lee, however, was the first to voice their thoughts. "Whoa! What the heck? How'd that thing get here?" None of the Arcanum agents answered, but they seemed relieved. Their journey was probably over. They rested and ate for a short amount of time, and the six were loaded onto it again. Keioushi tried to resist, attempting to pull apart his cuffs with brute strength, but he failed. Nodoka was also apprehensive to go onto the thing. If he did, they would never know where they were being brought. They could have been going to the other side of the world for all he knew. He hoped, at the very least, to be able to tell the Fire Sages of the Arcanum's hideout, but that seemed all but impossible now.

* * *

Toph felt the dull _thud_ as Aang fell to the ground with a long, drawn-out sigh. "Why do things like this have to keep happening?" he asked them, his voice heavy with pain.

"No one said it was going to be easy," Katara said to him, kneeling down to comfort her friend.

"I know, but I keep failing everything..."

Toph crossed her arms, frowning. "Complaining won't get you anywhere. Aang, you're stronger than that." She fumed when she was pushed out of the way by Jojo, who put herself in front of Aang.

"Don't say things like that! You helped me and June see what we were doing wrong," she said, bending down to look into his face.

"It was meant to happen," Meng said. The young girl sat down next to Aang and put a hand on his shoulder. "But we were also meant to help." Neither of them noticed, but Katara frowned at her.

"You haven't failed us all," Zuko contributed, staring off vaguely in the direction of Omashu. "You've helped me more than you can imagine."

"Aang, this isn't like you. We'll get the city back from that monster," Jet said, clenching his fist. Toph smirked, and sent her heel into the ground, pushing Aang into a standing position.

The Avatar looked around at all of them, his friends, his family... even Azula. They were all always supporting him, never leaving his side... He would have never been able to accomplish anything without their help. It wasn't until a single tear rolled down his cheek that he realized he was brimming with emotion. He forced it down, and smiled warmly at them, full of gratitude. "I... Guys... you've..." he tried to say, but he couldn't get it across to them.

"It's okay, we understand," Lee said with a toothy smile. Aang held out his arms to them, and Katara, Meng, and Jojo were the first to jump into the hug. Toph groaned when she realized Jojo had to be included, but she was pulled in anyway, followed by Lee and a forced Jet, Zuko, and Azula. They all fell over into a laughing pile on the ground.

June pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is ridiculous," she said, shaking her head. Her black fingernails tapped against her chin as she thought of a plan for the future. Now that she was with them, she had to deal with it, she supposed. Maybe she'd get along with the Princess. She hoped she wasn't as irritable as Jojo. "Now that you're all done with your crying," she announced to them, "we have to think of a plan for Omashu." The pile of friends broke up, some of them blushing in embarrassment, and wiped the nonexistent dust off of their clothing coolly.

"Well," Zuko said, coughing into his fist. "We should begin by finding out what their immediate plan is."

"I think we should get help from Kuei and Ba Sing Se," Katara said. "The Arcanum is a danger to the whole world."

Aang's mood sobered again. "I want to take back Omashu."

"Don't act so rash," Azula chided him. "We won't accomplish anything."

"Let's just wait and see what they're going to do first," Toph suggested. "Who knows? A chance to attack might open up."

"Do you really expect to take back Omashu with just the eight of us?" June asked her scathingly. "There's hundreds in the city."

"There's ten of us!" Lee adamantly put in.

"Yeah!" Meng said. Aang turned on them.

"This is way too dangerous for you two. You've got to stay here and watch Momo and Appa. Normally we'd let you, but you two aren't going to be put in danger. We already lied to your mother, Lee," Aang said sternly. Toph was surprised. Was he normally like that with younger children? She didn't know he was so responsible.

"That doesn't solve our problem. Even with them, we are worthless against that many soldiers," June said irritably. "It's impossible."

"Not quite," Jet said with a smirk. "Azula's done it before. She took over Ba Sing Se with just two of her friends. Not only that, but she took on Aang and Katara, and won it from them."

Zuko shuffled nervously, while Katara muttered, "Don't bring that up."

"You've got a point," Aang said. "When the time comes, we'll get Omashu back. We'll watch them for a while, and then come up with a plan."

* * *

After getting onto the airship, not much went on for Nodoka's group. They were forced to wait in the engine rooms, under watchful guard, their only other company the loud roaring of the engines. He knew not what lied beyond, but from the air crafts he had seen in the Fire Nation, he knew what they looked like, on the inside and the outside.

As the latest in the Fire Nation's technology, the airships were a force to be reckoned with. They were held up by a combination of the powerful engines and a piece of technology called a _jet_ (not to be confused with the Freedom Fighter) that was powered by firebending. There were also many propellers and wings, but they were meant mainly for stability. Somewhere near the bottom of the large craft was a bomb bay, where a hatch was opened to drop the explosives down on enemies below. On top of that, there were platforms all around the blimp-shaped structure where firebenders would stand and fend off any other close-range attackers. Nodoka had no idea how the hulking metal machine stayed in the air for such a long time. He refused to admit it, but he was fearful of the airships. Things as heavy as these aircrafts were not meant to fly.

The ride was much shorter than he thought it would be, but it felt agonizingly long for him. He didn't even realize they were landing until he felt the _bump_ when they hit the ground. By then, he felt slightly dizzy, and as the hatch opened and they got off the ship, he still felt ringing in his ears from the loud engines. As soon as they stepped off, still bound, he felt a wave of heat. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the sunlight, but when they did, he couldn't name the place where they were. According to the heat, they were still relatively near the Fire Nation, but most of the continent was lush and tropical. This, however, was barren and lifeless. The arid, rocky area stretched as far as the eye could see, but when he scanned the horizon, he noticed a dip in the land in front of them. He was curious when their earthbender captors and the Combustion Man led them to it.

When they neared it, Nodoka realized the break in the land was a large canyon, which went to unfathomable depths. A heavy mist prevented him from seeing how far it actually went down, but he didn't think about it too long. Their captors were opening a hole in the ground, revealing a tunnel complete with stairs. Mai was the first to be pushed down, and Nodoka followed after her closely. Teo, On Ji, Ty Lee, Keioushi, and the rest of their captors followed. One man, clearly of the Fire Nation, met them inside of the tunnel, and with a short greeting to the earthbenders, led the way forward. Torches were lit in brackets along the walls, which were their only source of light.

They were led along the tunnel in complete silence. Nodoka and the others felt no need for questions, though Keioushi and Ty Lee fidgeted uneasily. They knew they were being brought to the Arcanum's secret hideout, but any other questions they asked just made their captors angry and made them shut up. When they finally came to a dead end, the firebender stepped aside, allowing an earthbender to walk forward and bend the wall away.

Instead of the inside of another tunnel, Nodoka was surprised to see sunlight again. Once his eyes adjusted, he noticed a large, circular fountain of running water behind grand pillars of stone, and carefully made stones made up the floor. This place seemed to be a sort of balcony under the cliffside, and as he looked around, he noticed other buildings built along this one, all of them upside-down and pagoda-like. Vegetation grew on the undersides of the different levels of the buildings. The whole place was built underneath the cliff!

The next most notable thing he saw was the people. There were some Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom men walking around, doing their own things, but there were a multitude of people from a Nation he couldn't immediately identify. They seemed to be the servants—they were all cleaning, serving food, and gloomily restructuring the hideout for their superiors' use. Nodoka realized the place must have been ancient, and upon noticing a female statue with the traditional arrows of the airbenders, he immediately knew this place was one of the Air Temples. Judging from the climate and closeness to the Fire Nation, he surmised it was the Western Temple.

It wasn't until the soldiers pushed him that he realized he, along with the others, paused to look at the Temple and everything happening in it. "Get a move on! She wants to see you all now!" one of them shouted, hitting him with the butt of his weapon.

"She who?" Mai asked, her amber eyes narrowing. They didn't answer her.

A moment later, her question was answered when "she" came. The woman, a thin, black-haired sword wielder strolled into the area, a scornful look on her face. Her wild black hair and equally wild golden glint in her eye were all too familiar to all of them, except for Teo and On Ji. The animal fur around her shoulders and attached to her clothing only enhanced her bestial ferocity. With the gigantic great sword on her back, it could only be one person, as impossible as it seemed.

Somehow, Yasha was back.

There were some differences, however. If anything, she seemed more insane. All sense and reason was lost in her eyes. She carried herself with extreme arrogance and scorn for all those below her. In addition, there were numerous nasty scars all over her face, some of them suggesting burns in the past.

But... how?

"You," Mai said in a low voice, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"Yes, _me_," Yasha answered with a malicious grin. Nodoka remembered her viciousness and insanity from the group's fight with her during the second invasion of Sozin City during the war, but he remembered little of who she actually was. She bore a passing resemblance to Azula, but he was pretty sure she wasn't her mother. She was probably the second wife of Ozai, after Ursa was banished. Now that he thought about Ursa, _there_ was the resemblance... was there any relation?

"Hey, wait a minute," Keioushi said, scratching his head confusedly. "Wasn't the Temple destroyed with you in it? Aang went all 'Avatar State' on us and totally owned Ozai. Nothing could've survived in there, and I know it!"

"You're right, you dumb brute," she answered, flipping her wild mane of black hair out of her face. "My sister's desperate attempt of protecting me with stone worked. I'd like to thank that young earthbender one day," she said with a smirk, her hand comfortably resting on the hilt of her sword.

And then Nodoka remembered the scene from over a year ago, which he somehow remembered after all this time during that chaotic day...

* * *

The two sisters continued to fight, now aided by Haru, Jin, Sokka, and Suki. Yasha jumped above the earthbender's attacks, just as Jin struck out at her with her sword. Yasha blocked the blow with her own powerful weapon. Two whips of flame coalesced into Ursa's hands, which were swung at her sister. The manic woman used her great sword to block the blow, as the whips wrapped around her weapon. Yasha grinned like a demon.

"Face it, sister. I've always been the best, and even with the help from these children you still can't win!" she gloated.

Ursa smirked. "My attack's not done yet, Yasha." Suddenly, she pulled on her two whips, which were still wrapped around her sister's weapon. The great sword went flying out of her hands, landing on the other side of the room. Yasha snarled, rushing at her with flames flying from her hands. Her uncontrolled attacks were barely blocked by Haru, Jin, Sokka, and Suki, and right before reaching her Yasha let out a pillar of fire that was just blasted away by Ursa. The older sister jumped up, just as Ursa protected herself from the fire pillar, and all she could do to defend herself from her flying sister, holding a fireball, was to unsheathe her swords again. They were crossed right in front of her, with Yasha practically standing on them. In a split second, the older firebender jumped back, but not before Ursa could slash at her with her identical broadswords.

One made a deep gash in her stomach, the other in her face. As Yasha landed she grunted in pain, standing unbalanced with a hand to her gut in an attempt to stem the bleeding. Shockingly scarlet blood streamed down her face.

"Do you think a little cut is going to stop me?" she cried, and an evil smirk and a manic gleam entered her face, and Ursa was petrified with fear at what she knew her sister was going to do. A fireball came from the hand held to her stomach.

Yasha shrieked in pain, staggering backwards. Cauterizing her wound did not work, however, and she simply fell to the ground, an anguished expression on her face. But at the same time, it was oddly triumphant. Ursa dropped her swords.

"She... she couldn't take the pain," she whimpered, holding a bloody hand near her face. "It... killed her." An ear-splitting crack echoed around the room, as a result from a ferocious earthbending attack from Aang—his titanic struggle with the Fire Lord was still going on. "You, earthbender!" she beckoned to Haru, not knowing his name. At the moment, she was so shocked she didn't care if she was rude. "Protect my sister's body from harm, cover her with a blanket of hard earth..." Haru nodded, erecting a small tent over the firebender. That done, they all headed to the fight with Ozai. Ursa stayed for another moment. "Goodbye, sister."

* * *

Nodoka's eyes were set on Yasha, older sister of Ursa, second wife of Ozai, as he stared at her determinedly. If it weren't for the chains, he would finish Ursa's job and kill her now. She was the new leader of the Arcanum. She had to be.

"Yes," Yasha continued. "From inside my block of stone, I was protected from the Avatar's fury. He blasted me away uncaringly. It was painful, but I rolled far away from the fight. Later, that idiot Long Feng found me, and freed me. Both of us wanted revenge against the Fire Nation and the rest of the world. He had his own goals, but we decided to... work together. I was surprised he had survived. But he proved useful. From the Earth Kingdom, he gathered a group of followers, which he dubbed the 'Arcanum.' I gathered my own right under our little Fire Lord's nose. They're good and all, but my goal is my dear nephew, _Zuko_," she said, growling the Fire Lord's name with hatred. "I wanted him, but you will work for my plans... I will draw him to me, and end his life with pain. _I _am next in line for the throne. I, the Lord's wife!"

"You're wrong, Ursa is!" Mai yelled boldly, interrupting the crazy woman's tirade. Yasha stopped speaking, and looked down at the girl forcefully kneeled on the floor, and a smile came to her face.

"I remember you," Yasha said. "You're my niece's friend. I had hope for her, but she turned out to be weak, just like Ursa," she mused. Her face suddenly turned to one of deranged fury. "_Don't speak of my sister!_" Everyone around her, even the soldiers, flinched back, and after breathing once, Yasha seemed to calm down. "With you here and the other so-called Champions gone, we'll be free to attack Sozin City, kill all who oppose us, and I will seize the throne!"

"But why are you in the Western Air Temple?" Ty Lee asked, confused. "You had some kinda base in the mountains behind the city, which is closer." Nodoka was fairly impressed. Ty Lee wasn't the type to think things thoroughly like that.

Yasha's gaze switched to her, and she sighed. "Unfortunately, the city would have been breathing down our necks. I have to give them _some_ credit, I suppose. The airship down there was a one-time thing, just to get you. Anyway, the Temple served a good purpose. Here, I am far away not to be noticed, but close enough to know what is happening. Kicking these airbenders out and using them as slaves was an added bonus," she said, gesturing to the servants Nodoka noticed before. "They are efficient miners, and the vein around here is rich with copper and gold!"

"What? More airbenders?" Teo asked, shock on his face. Nodoka looked around, his mouth slightly hanging open. There were so many that he hadn't noticed before! There were many more of the slaves than there were people in Pi-Su, the hidden Air Nomad village, now abandoned, that used to lie in the Cahdeham Mountains. If he had to guess, he would have estimated over one hundred people were here.

"Yes, surprising, right?" Yasha asked, flipping her hair out of her eyes again. "They're such pathetic creatures, these airbenders. There is no fight left in them. They were easy to control." Nodoka saw the defeated looks on their faces, so inappropriate for normally lighthearted Air Nomads. Did they even know of the end of the war? Did they know about the other survivors, living in a new town with the rest of the world? "Anyway," Yasha continued, "now that we have prisoners, our attack will begin. The capitol city won't know what hit them," she said giddily. "Our war balloons will destroy the Palace!" She laughed maniacally, her clawed hands held out as she threw her head back.

"You're crazy," On Ji said out loud. Yasha didn't react, continuing to laugh madly. Suddenly, they heard a loud, low grumble. Yasha seemed startled, but she looked around, almost paranoid. In front of them, passed the fountain of water and near the edge of the Temple, a figure rose, straight-backed and glaring. He was bald, and had thick white eyebrows and an equally thick beard. As old as he looked, he was deeply tanned and finely muscled, and wore little more than rags as clothing. He seemed to be rising, and underneath him was the oldest flying bison any of them had ever seen. It was also larger by far than Appa, and very grey. He did not see the bison's face, as its tail was to them.

"Who're you, old man?" Yasha snarled at him. The bison's flat tail rose into the air, and flapped down hard. Huge gusts of air ripped everyone off of their feet, but Nodoka and the others, already on the ground, didn't move at all. The airbender slaves let it carry them, but they gracefully regained their position in the air and landed on the ground, unharmed. Yasha and her soldiers were thrown against the walls painfully. More soldiers rushed into the area. With agility belying his true age, the man leapt off of the bison, landing on the ground where a surge of invisible force threw many of Yasha's soldiers back. Many more moved to surround him, but he spun rapidly in place, sending shockwaves of air flying off of him and knocking them all away. He sprang forward, seeming to grasp the air currents between his fingers as he fended off all of the other soldiers.

"Get on my bison!" he said with a strange accent, staring at them. Nodoka didn't question him, immediately complying. He grabbed his spear and Teo's crossbow from the fallen man, as Mai grabbed her numerous weapons and Keioushi snatched his bronze knuckles. Still cuffed, the warriors found it difficult, but they ran forward onto the waiting, aged bison.

"Get them!" Yasha shrieked, hurling red fireballs at the airbender. Using very subtle movements, the old man defended himself with a hasty air barrier. Once the six were on the bison, the old man retreated, jumping backward twice and landing skillfully on his bison. The moment he landed, the bison rumbled again, and gained altitude. They heard Yasha's shrieks and saw her bursts of flame, sent for them, as they retreated. Her one last attack seemed to be a fork of lightning, which ripped through the air right beneath them. Nodoka and the others sighed with relief once they were gone.

The old man sighed, and suddenly seemed tired as he jumped to his bison's head. "You are safe now," he said, once again in his strange accent. Nodoka tilted his head. Who was he, and where had he come from?

"You're an airbender," Teo stated. Everyone was silent, staring at this odd newcomer who had saved them.

"Yes," the man replied.

"But those were your people. Why didn't you save them?" Teo asked, almost accusingly.

"I could not," he replied regretfully. "Yes, they were enslaved. But they are safe. You are far more important at the present time."

"What do you mean?" Nodoka spoke up.

"You are friends of Avatar Aang. You can help us. We will overthrow that woman and save the city from attack," he replied.

"Who are you?" On Ji asked. The aged man turned to stare at her.

"I am a guru called Pathik. I am friends with Aang," he said. At that moment, Nodoka remembered another time, a year before, when the Avatar Gang was still traveling throughout the Earth Kingdom. It was soon after he joined them, and they met an old woman. She told them of the Four with connections to the Spirit World, besides the Avatar.

First, there was Guru Pathik, the spirit teacher. He was the one who informed people of the ways of the spirits and the Spirit World. Second, there was Huu, the spirit protector. The swamp-man protected the land and all of the highly spiritual places in the world, even if he rarely left his swamp. The whole world was connected, so it was a matter of stretching his spiritual influence. Third, there was Isodira the spirit guide. She guided the dead to the Spirit World, where they could find eternal rest. Lastly, Iroh was the spirit mediator, and he had the ability to travel between the Physical and Spirit Worlds, and calm vengeful spirits. Later, Aang and the others learned that they were each from different Nations. Pathik was of the Air Nation, Huu of Water, Isodira of Earth, and Iroh of Fire. The Avatar was the fifth, and he united them all as one.

"How long has Yasha been there?" Nodoka asked him. "We've got to do something, before she attacks the city."

"Do not worry, we will," Pathik answered. "For now, we have to find somewhere to rest our bodies and think."

"Where did you come from? How are there even more airbenders?" Teo questioned.

"I have been hiding in the canyon, waiting for a chance to do something. Here we are. I will explain more later," he said, descending the bison. It went down into the gorge, where there was a forest. Nodoka didn't expect to see one, especially so soon. He thought this land was barren.

When they landed, On Ji and Ty Lee made a fire, and Pathik prepared something for them to eat. Keioushi immediately went to work, pulling with all of his strength against the metal cuffs binding their hands together. To his surprise, it ripped apart. After that, he went to work on the others. Apparently, this was where the guru was hiding, because there was a tent and cooking items. Pathik sat down and offered them bowls. "Who wants some onion banana juice?" he asked them.

* * *

**Author's Notes: This chapter came out a little quicker. I don't know when you can expect the next one :(**

**Yasha's return may seem like a bit of a surprise, but I had it planned ever since the first story. I had very little time then to flesh her out and give her a personality and a history. Then, it seemed like she was just thrown in, but she was supposed to have a much bigger part here. She's been Long Feng's secret correspondent from the beginning. Also, the airbenders have also been planned. Pathik will explain everything later.**

**I've been itching to write this chapter for a while, and you all know what that means. Chapters I've been excited for tend to be written a little worse -.- Sorry about that. Please review! I had a lot less last chapter.**


	16. The Betrayer

**Previously on "Avatar" (Heheh): Sokka's** group, arriving in the **Southern Water Tribe**, was shocked to see the city under control of the **Arcanum**, and the enemy they believed to be dead, **Kinto**. At the same time, **Aang's** group, after arriving in **Omashu**, are equally surprised to see **Long Feng **alive and in control of the city. In the **Western Air Temple**, **Nodoka's** group, after escaping from **Yasha** with **Guru Pathik's** aid, fled to a nearby forest to wait and see what they will do next. Finally, **Kei's** group, in **Akikaze**, the first city of the Air Theocracy, fought off the **Rough Rhinos.**

**(Phew)... Anyway, as interesting as that all seems above, this chapter will be rather short, I think.**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 16: The Betrayer_

Sokka was so _angry_. He had never felt so helpless in his life. He wanted to help his home desperately, to do something to expel the Arcanum from the Southern Water Tribe. The six of them were going up against overwhelming odds. Kinto had a whole navy on his side. It was a navy of his own people... how could they so readily turn against their Chief, Hakoda? Were Kinto's lies and words really that powerful?

"Does anyone have any ideas?" Haru asked hopelessly. Nobody answered, too deep in their thoughts to care. One of the bison calves rubbed up against Sokka, but he ignored it, rubbing his chin with a pensive look on his face. He would never give up on his city. He would never give up on his father...

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw what was unmistakably Kinto leave the Palace and skillfully slide down the Upper Level into the lower ones. In moments, he reached the canals of the lowest level and propelled himself through the water, reaching the ocean and jumping to the ship furthest behind the others. It was as if he was waiting for Sokka and the others the whole time... On board the deck of his ship, he saw Kinto look up at him and smirk boastfully and triumphantly. Yanna was well out of reach of their attacks, and vice versa, but Sokka gripped his boomerang tightly, itching to maul him with it.

The ice gates opened. The ships slowly moved to exit the Southern Water Tribe's bay and into the open ocean. They were going to attack the Earth Kingdom.

Sokka never before realized how fragile peace could be.

* * *

Aang watched from atop one of the rocky cliffs, looking down at Omashu like some unattached, god-like being. He was gripping his staff so tightly that it threatened to break. Only Toph stood by his side, sharing in his pain.

Long Feng's army of the Arcanum marched out of the rocky mountains surrounding Omashu, preparing to go to war. Earlier, June and Zuko were able to sneak down to them, and learn where they were going. This army was planning to go to war with the Southern Water Tribe. He had never seen them yet, but he was sure they would never stand up to the might of Omashu.

For the first time in his life, Aang felt true hatred for another living being.

Long Feng had done many things in the short time Aang had known him. First, the cruel earthbender lied to him and the Earth King, using the leader as a figurehead and keeping him uninformed of the war, giving the Fire Nation an incredible advantage. Long Feng, along with the Dai Li, their constant enemies, had kidnapped Appa and held him prisoner. Thirdly, Long Feng had injured Jet to the point that Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph thought that he was dead. Afterwards, he attempted to take over Ba Sing Se with the help of Azula.

After the takeover of the capitol city of the Earth Kingdom, Aang and the others did not see him again for a while, but when the Jihen rebels marched to Ba Sing Se to reclaim the city, Long Feng showed his influence again. He was behind the kidnapping of Toph's parents, and nearly led the Avatar to betray his friends and the rebel army to the Dai Li. At the same time, they learned that Long Feng allied himself with the Fire Lord, and was willing to destroy the whole Earth Kingdom for his own gains. During the day of the Eclipse, he nearly killed Jet and Toph in a fight, and the two escaped with sheer luck. They fought him again afterwards, and then they thought they finally killed him. But just the day before, he was revealed to be alive and behind all of the troubles brewing between each of the four Nations. He was building a war behind their backs the whole time.

But after Bumi died, Aang silently vowed to himself to protect Omashu. But Long Feng took that away from him, too.

He did not know what was going to happen if they were to meet again, but he had no qualms about summoning the Avatar spirits and wreaking total destruction on the man.

* * *

The seven were interrupted from their lunch and planning by a loud, low rumble. To Nodoka, it sounded vaguely like the engines of the airship they were on the day before. Unfortunately, it was revealed to him a minute later to be just that.

"Oh, crap," Keioushi said plainly, looking up into the sky. The massive, hulking airship rose from the flat, barren lands above, followed by a fleet of war balloons. Nodoka had never seen so many at once.

"They're going to attack Sozin City!" Ty Lee cried out.

"What are we going to do?" Teo asked Nodoka. "We will never be able to warn them in time."

"No, but we can fight," the Guru said, flexibly rising up into a standing position.

"What are you talking about, you old coot? They're up in the air, and we're completely outnumbered, man!" Keioushi yelled to him.

"There is still hope," the old man said. "We can return to the Western Air Temple and free all of the airbenders."

"What's that going to do?" On Ji asked him curiously.

Realization came to Teo's quick mind, and his eyes widened. "Don't tell me..."

"Yes, we are going to fight in the air with all of their bison," Pathik confirmed. Nodoka turned to him.

"All of them have their own?" he asked. The Guru nodded. The warrior's brow furrowed. Now, they had a chance... especially with over one hundred bison.

* * *

The steady trample of feet marched along the wide, open plains. The sky was bright and clear, a gentle breeze swept past them all, and the wilderness was untouched by war and destruction. _Well_, the man thought, _that's about to change._

The man, Maiguo, was the leader of the army that marched across the plains, mounted on a bison behind them. It was moving along with all six of its feet, choosing to walk instead of fly. Maiguo and the soldiers were deployed from the Western Air Temple, sent to attack Akikaze, the vernal city of the Air Theocracy. They resisted the Arcanum for far too long. It was time to crush them.

The man looked up at the sky, enjoying the gentle breeze and the beautiful weather. It invigorated him. He opened his arms wide, as if trying to accept it all at once, the feeling of irrevocable freedom. His short white hair and thin beard on his chin rustled as he closed his wrinkled eyes, lulled by each tread of the bison's six feet.

In fact, there were two other bison walking along next to his. The two men that sat atop each were the ones meant to relay orders to the rest of the soldiers. Maiguo was the ultimate leader of them, bowing to only Yasha. But now, he was free of her madness, if only just to enter his own. That was okay. Battle was fun.

He was different from the other two leaders, however. Those two forcefully acquired resistant bison from the captive airbenders back at the Temple. Both of them were black-haired, golden-eyed firebenders.

Maiguo, however, was an airbender.

The bison was his from young age. It was his loyal friend and ally, and it always was. They trained together, grew old together, and lived life traveling around the world, always hidden and unseen. Before Yasha came to the Western Air Temple, his people were still constricted there as prisoners. Maiguo never wanted to live like that. He wanted to be free, like the Nomads of the past. His people were now stupid and had no ambitions in life.

Yes, he was now getting old, but he still had an ambition. He wanted to reconstruct the world the way he wanted to. He was not going to bow down to a master. Yasha was a tool to him. He was going to double-cross her soon, when the time was right. For now, he was just an airbender who had betrayed his people. He had no desire to stay with them anyway.

Ever since a young age, he looked up to his grandfather. Afiko was a resident of the Southern Air Temple. He was the reason for the destruction of all the Temples, giving their locations away to Fire Lord Sozin. He was a traitor to his people, and he became an advisor to the Fire Lord. Later in his life, after growing old, he was killed during Azulon's reign, branded as a traitor to them. Maiguo never knew what happened, but he did know his reasons.

Afiko was simply envious. He was a man that craved power, and when the Avatar was announced, he immediately grew jealous of the boy. _What was his name...? Lang? Aang? No matter._

Maiguo knew for a fact that he definitely wasn't the Avatar. But he had the next best thing.

He was the most powerful airbender in the world.

* * *

Song walked through the main street of Akikaze, enjoying the beautiful autumn day. Everyone else was off working or relaxing, or shopping in the few stores. She held a basket of the Akihana flowers, handing them out to the people on the street. The kind Air people accepted them with a warm smile and went on their way, most of them going to the games of airball that were being played all day.

She smiled as she watched them go, thinking about the development of the town so far. Presently, she knew every single one of the Air peoples' names, and several others. The town was small enough to know everybody. But today was a happy occasion. Two new people were added to the population. Two expecting mothers from the people that came from the Cahdeham Mountains each had a child today, both of them little boys. The day was declared a day of rest and all of the builders stopped working and went to enjoy the day. The people played airball to celebrate.

The repairs from the attacks of the Yu Yan Archers and the Rough Rhinos were finally finished, and the builders again started doing what they originally came for. The makeshift bison stables were expanded and perfected and comfortable for the half dozen bison they had, andthe Temple was expanded to suit the needs of the people. The Mechanist was working on airships based off of the Fire Nation models for travel for the normal people. Akikaze was eager to get involved with the trade of the rest of the world.

Song squinted her eyes when she saw a cloud of dust down the road, near the town's stone gates. Very shortly, she saw that it was a robed figure running towards her at the speed of wind, but it was nobody she recognized immediately. The person ran right past her, blowing up her clothes and carrying away the flowers in her basket. She looked after the person, who was running in the direction of the Temple.

"I wonder what the rush is," Song said. The other people in the town looked at the person, curious. Not able to deny the fact that she wasn't also curious, she followed after the airbender, albeit at a slower pace.

The heavy doors of the Temple, almost always opened now, had people crowded on its threshold. Everyone was in a circle around the woman on the floor, who had a mess of blonde hair. Ruo-Feng was knelt down next to her, concerned for her well-being, as the woman tried to catch her breath. "There's... an army... headed this way...!" she managed to gasp out. The people gasped and muttered in nervousness. Song managed to find Kei in the crowd.

"Not again," Kei moaned.

"Everyone, silence, please!" Ruo-Feng shouted, quieting them all. "From what this woman says, our village will yet again be under attack. This time they're pulling out all the stops." Smellerbee and Longshot walked over to the two, listening to the Chieftainess of Akikaze. "We must think of a battle plan. General Kei, come with me, please. Everyone else, please keep a level head. We won't be able to do anything if we are all panicking."

Kei edged through the crowd over to the black-haired woman, but Song hesitated. She wasn't called specifically, but Kei pulled her by the hand anyway. Smellerbee and Longshot followed, but to their surprise, Lani pulled herself from the crowd and went with them. The people, airbenders and earthbenders and non-benders, finally dispersed, perhaps to get ready for battle. They met Ruo-Feng near the back of the Temple, with the unknown, blonde airbender and the Mechanist, who was worriedly tapping his chin, deep in thought. As they got closer, Song recognized the woman.

"You're Upepo!" she said, eyes wide. The airbender turned to her, and her heavily tattooed face was easily recognizable.

While the four were on their way to the village of Akikaze, they came across a wide, grassy veldt, which wasn't far from Akikaze's plains. Kei, Song, Smellerbee, and Longshot ran into vicious Panthkeys, cat-like, gigantic creatures that terrorized the veldt for over a century. They found a mixed group of people forced to live underground, kept prisoner in their own lands. They knew nothing of the war and of its end, and they even had three airbenders. Most of the people were earthbenders, but there were a scarce amount of firebenders and no waterbenders at all. The Chief was a heavyset man, and Upepo was their medicine woman.

"It is pleasing to see that you young ones are well," Upepo said, standing up straight. She wore very primitive Air Nomad clothing, but Song smiled at her as Kei remembered an uncomfortable healing session with the two of them.

"What's going on? Who's coming to attack?" Smellerbee asked directly.

"We do not know, but an army is marching to this place. They seemed to be of the Fire Nation. My people, now free to roam the world, decided to do just that. We split. A small group of us wanted to live here," Upepo explained. "I was the fastest, so I came to warn you. Our other two airbenders are scouting and trying to learn all they can about that menace."

"They may not be hostile," Ruo-Feng said.

"They could be more help from the Fire Nation. We're not evil anymore," Kei said, crossing his arms.

"In any case, we should be prepared," Song contributed. "What if they're from the Arcanum? They might try to hurt us."

"I've got an idea," the Mechanist said. "You should have some archers ready on top of your bison, and stay high above them. We'll have some others standing in front of the walls, just in case they decide to attack. If they do not, we will negotiate. But if they do..." He trailed off.

"We'll fight," Smellerbee finished for him, clenching her fist in front of her face.

Ruo-Feng nodded. "Okay. I'll go out to administer the orders," she said, running off.

"This is the perfect time to use my new invention!" the Mechanist said excitedly. "The flash bomb. It's going to be useful here, I'd expect."

"Yeah, whatever," Smellerbee said, waving her hand. She turned to Upepo. "Are your people coming? We could use all the help we could get."

"Yes. There are two dozen of us—two of them are airbenders, and five are earth. The rest would like a place to live..."

"Oh, there's plenty of room in this town! More than we need!" the Mechanist said.

"They are going to come soon. None of them can run as fast as I can," Upepo said. "I'm not much of a fighter, but I'll contribute to keeping the people safe."

Kei nodded. "We'll count on that."

* * *

Song quivered, but she didn't know if it was because of the sudden chill in the air or an effect of the upcoming battle. The people, not even a proper army, readied themselves quickly. The town's few airbenders mounted on the large stone walls with their gliders, ready to bombard the potential enemies with their airbending and the Mechanist's numerous bombs. The builders, now equipped for warfare, stood on the ground, ready to earthbend. The Theocracy's archers sat on the backs of the bison, trying to get an aerial advantage. Longshot commanded them. Everyone else who could fight joined the earthbenders on the ground, ready to be the nose of the makeshift fighting force. Song stood in that place with Kei and Smellerbee. Upepo's people arrived shortly before, most of them wielding rather primitive weapons like wooden spears or hammers. Kei's men were too wounded from previous battles to fight.

The other army was now in sight. They held no flag, but it was easy to see the black and red colors of the Fire Nation. Song was confused. Would Iroh send more soldiers to aid them without notifying Kei? She didn't think so. That wasn't like the old man.

Suddenly, many of the people were able to see three white blots in the distance. There were distant yet familiar grumblings. To their shock, one of them flew into the air! As the army marched closer, they saw that they could only be Sky Bison. There was confused muttering about this. They didn't know what to make of these people. She was able to see some of the men wheeling along large metal catapults. But what were they doing with them? The army stopped when they were still a considerable distance away, and the catapults were pulled back... they were being loaded... the ammunition was lit on fire...

"They're going to attack us!" Kei yelled. The projectile was flung through the air, intent on hitting the town... but three airbenders jumped up to intercept it. "Let's fight!" Kei shouted, brandishing his sword. Akikaze's Sky Bison flew forward, their occupants' arrows shooting down on the confirmed enemies. Many fell quickly, and the airbenders sped out to unload their assault of bombs. Song was saddened by the way the times had changed. When she was a little girl, she liked to hear stories about the kind, gentle airbenders that wouldn't harm a fly. But they couldn't sit idly and be destroyed. They had to defend their new home.

The enemy soldiers rushed forward, just as they catapulted more deadly projectiles. Again, they were intercepted. More of them were felled by arrows. Earthbenders were burned, and firebenders were buried and pelted with rocks. Kei slashed his sword all around him, regretting his decision to allow a nearly defenseless Song into the fight. She was determined to show that she wasn't totally defenseless, shooting sleeping pellets at her enemies, as well as quick and deadly poisons. She was far from a dabbler in alchemy now. She was able to produce any kinds of poisons and antidotes quite easily. The Akihana flowers made the curious effect of temporary blindness and an intense burning of the eyes.

Smellerbee cut through the soldiers, lithely ducking under attacks as she always did. Lani and Ruo-Feng soon joined them, using their airbending to bowl over many foes, as well as create barriers for everyone around them. Behind them, a war balloon rose from the town and the Mechanist unloaded bombs on their enemies. This one was refashioned to have the Air Nomad colors and insignia on the balloon.

One of the three enemy Sky Bison landed in front of Kei and the others, and there was a Fire Nation man sitting on top of it. The man wielded a long whip, which he consistently cracked, ordering the bison to attack them. The white creature resisted, growling in pain. Lani jumped on top of the man and knocked him out with her staff.

"You poor thing," she murmured to the bison. What was going on? Why were they being forced against their will? Where did they come from?

Earth was being torn up all around them, and the ground was being scorched. The war that took place on this very plain many years before was now being replayed. Fortunately for them, the enemy army wasn't really all _that_ large. They were almost evenly matched. Lani's new bison flew away in fear, but not before she jumped off of it. It fled to join the other bison waiting in the air, greeting them happily.

Just as the five were about to rush forward to join the fight again, another bison landed in front of them, this one bearing an older man in saffron robes. This bison was much more aggressive looking, and didn't seem reluctant to attack them. It sent a blast of air at Ruo-Feng, but she jumped above it, and spinning her staff, landed on top of it to combat the man. He smirked.

The man jumped backward in an astounding feat of agility, dodging the attack and landing on the bison's saddle. Ruo-Feng went for him again with a blast of air, but he jumped high above it... too high. Lani's mouth dropped open, Song gasped, and Ruo-Feng looked up at the man, her brow furrowed.

He came back down softly, the winds spinning around him. "Like what you see?" he asked, chuckling. It was then that Song realized. He bore the colors of the airbenders, and somehow he was one.

"Who are you?" Ruo-Feng asked sharply. Her voice was disturbingly uncharacteristic.

"Maiguo's the name," he said. Despite his age, there seemed to be youthful exuberance in his eyes.

"You're an airbender! How is that possible?" Lani asked him, shocked. "Why are you attacking us?"

"You aren't the only group of airbenders left in the world, you know," Maiguo said to her, the lightness in his voice gone. "There are many of us left in the Western Air Temple."

"Get the soldiers and leave us," Ruo-Feng said, her voice gentle but still commanding. "You are an airbender. You should know that we do not like violence."

Maiguo shrugged. "Too bad. I do. You're just like my pathetic people. They're wimps and they hate fighting. I was cooped up in that Temple forever! I've wanted to stretch my wings for ages, and when Yasha came, that was my chance. I was able to be as free as the wind again," he said. _Wait a minute!_ Song thought, eyes widening. _Did he just say Yasha?_ It was just one shock after another. "And you aren't going to stop me!"

He clenched his fingers, grabbing the very air currents themselves, and slammed them down into the floor, right on top of Ruo-Feng. The Chieftainess was hit by the attack full force, and she was smashed against the bison and onto the ground. The bison moaned in pain, but flew away. Maiguo remained on the ground, ready to fight them. Song had never seen such powerful airbending without a staff. Even Aang always needed one.

Ruo-Feng moved. The airbender bent her arms and pushed her palms against the ground, picking herself up. Her long, silky black hair hung down, covering her face. She seemed fine, but she was covered in dirt. "I regret that we have to resort to fighting," she said, dropping her own staff on the ground. The battle continued on around them, uninterrupted. Kei, Song, Smellerbee, and Lani watched them in anticipation. It was a fight only for the two airbenders, it seemed.

Maiguo moved first, but it was so fast that Song felt that if she blinked she would have missed it. He pelted toward her like the fastest arrow, slamming into her with as much force as he could muster, increased by the bending of the winds. The woman circled around him at the last moment, her hands held up in a stance, ready to defend herself. She dodged quickly between all of his attacks, whirling up a charged force of air. She ran at him, but stopped short as a Ruo-Feng shaped after-image of wind slammed into him, throwing him back. She vanished and reappeared right next to him as he pushed himself up. "You have one more chance. I do not want to fight you," she said. "Airbenders are people of harmony. We do not fight each other."

He looked up at her, blood streaming from the corner of his mouth, and he smiled. "My friend, even airbending has a dark side." He kicked up from the ground and flew at Ruo-Feng again, but this time he caught her unprepared. He punched her with a swirling ball of air in his hands, knocking her to another location where he sped up and attacked her again. He was juggling her through the air, until she went crashing into the ground, sliding through it and leaving marks in the dirt.

The other four had never seen a fight quite like this. Never in history did two airbenders ever fight each other. The scary part was that Maiguo was _enjoying_ it. He was beating her senseless. Kei decided that it was time to intervene, and he held his sword up to the dark airbender. As Ruo-Feng shakily pushed herself up again, the other four rose to battle. Maiguo stepped back to face them all at once.

"I have a feeling this might be a little difficult," he mused. "I guess it's time to bring out one of my advanced airbending techniques..."

"What are you talking about?" Lani asked him disbelievingly.

Maiguo grinned. "Soundbending."

* * *

**Author's Notes: Sorry it took so long to update. Super Smash Bros. Brawl has been taking over my life. Anyone want to share friend codes?**

**Triva:**

**Maiguo—"to betray one's country"**

**I had to include Afiko the Betrayer, from the card game, somewhere. Since Malu, Kinto, and Jojo are already in the story, I really wanted to put him somewhere, but it was difficult since he was dead. Maiguo was planned since the start, but I threw in his relation to Afiko. Afiko is the last of the four main card game characters in this story.**

**And yes, that's the advanced technique for airbending. Well, in my story anyway. All the other bending styles have at least two. And now it's airbending's turn. After soundbending, there will be another. Don't worry, they're both believable and I will explain them both, as well as how Maiguo learned how to do them. I've had this scene planned forever too, so sorry if it's bad. I think in the beginning I created Maiguo just so I could introduce those two new bending types...**

**Sorry for ending it on a cliffhanger! Please review:)**


	17. The Western Winds

**

* * *

**

Previously on 'Avatar': Yasha

is alive and imprisoning airbenders in the **Western Air Temple**, found by **Nodoka's **group. They met with **Guru Pathik**, who helped them escape, and later they saw a whole fleet of war balloons descend to attack **Sozin City**. **Aang's **group, outside of **Omashu**, is planning an attack on **Long Feng**, hoping to stop him once and for all.

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 17: Western Winds_

Many times Nodoka had wondered about the effects that the Avatar had had on his life. He often had time to think of things such as these, being the type of person that preferred to stay within the deep recesses of his mind with only his thoughts as a companion, until recently. When he had first joined them, he was still a young, friendless teen, living only for adventure and nothing else. The home life had bored him. He never knew what he was looking for—heck, he didn't know if he had found it yet—but once he met Suki, everything seemed to change.

He fought in wars. He killed for the first time. He made friends besides Keioushi, his ever-present, ever-cheerful companion for most of his life. He learned the meaning of bonds. He learned to be a leader.

He fell in love.

In all of the Avatar's travels around the world, he changed many lives, including his. Now it was his turn to save the world, or at least a part of it. War couldn't erupt again so soon, but Yasha was corrupting the peace.

All of their heads looked up as the shadows of the airship and war balloons passed over them, blocking out the sun. Pathik jumped onto his old, grey bison.

"Hurry! We must free the airbenders while the soldiers are gone!" he yelled to them. On Ji was the first to clamor onto the bison, helping Teo wheel himself up its tail. Mai was next, who seemed to float through the air like it was water. Ty Lee was next, lithely jumping up into the saddle, an undying smile on her face. Nodoka and Keioushi were last, the latter's brawn taking up much of the space on the bison. Nodoka looked over them all, the people that he was in charge of, his responsibility. They were his friends, and he didn't want to fail them. _He_ was leading them into the unknown, into a battle where the odds were potentially against them. Two of them were inexperienced for battles like these. He wondered if they were all going to survive. He quickly shook his head, banishing those thoughts. They couldn't lose anybody. He could not always rely on Zuko, Aang, or any of the others to take care of a tough situation like this. Mai looked at him with a small, encouraging, rare smile. He smiled back. Each of them deepened his love for her. He wanted to be someone she could rely on.

There was silence on the back of the old bison for a moment. The Guru was staring solemnly ahead, dreaming of freeing his people as they flew through the sky. The war balloons were passing to the east, ignorant of the smaller bison. Mai stared at the man, her golden eyes piercing and calculating.

"You never told us yet about your people. How did they get there? How have they stayed hidden all these years?" she asked the Guru. "Many searches were done at the Western Air Temple. I know for a fact that Zuko started his journey there."

The Guru sighed, and in that moment Nodoka saw the full age in his eyes that he had skillfully hidden. He had never met an older person. "We have always been there, ever since the beginning of the war, when the rest of the Nomads were lost..." He told them that the airbenders were forced to hide underneath the cliffs, deep inside their labyrinthine passageways, whenever the Fire Nation or anyone else came to look for them. There were many restrictions on their lives. None were allowed to leave the Temple. Bison and airbender alike were never allowed to roam free, their lives were at stake. Some thought that that kind of life wasn't even worth living. Fifty years before, Pathik received a vision that he was supposed to go to the Eastern Air Temple to help the next Avatar, but when he finally returned, he was shocked to find that his people were truly prisoners, exposed by one of their own, Maiguo. He, like many others, was tired of living underground.

"What happened to him?" Ty Lee asked him. Everyone else was silent.

"I don't know," he answered after a moment.

* * *

"Wait a minute, I heard some voices."

"You're always hearing voices."

"I swear! I heard them this time!"

"Sure you did."

"Wait, I think I just heard... well, it sounded kind of like a snort."

"A snort now?"

"Yes! What if it's..." The man's voice lowered into a fearful whisper. "...a _hogmonkey_?"

The other man rolled his eyes. "_You're_ a hogmonkey."

"Go check! I heard it from behind that building!" the first man said, pointing to one of the dark alleys. The second man rolled his eyes again, but walked toward the building. A shadow quickly flitted over them, but neither of the two noticed. Once the second man was wreathed in the shadows of the alley, the first man bit his lip, slightly scared of being alone in the darkness.

"Oof!" he heard a voice say. It came from the direction of the alley his partner just went into!

"Kozu?" the man whispered, biting his fingernails now. He wandered over to the alley, peering into it and calling his friend's name again. When there was no answer, he gulped and went inside.

The next thing he knew, he felt a sharp pain in his head and he quickly fell to the ground, and he knew no more.

Toph cracked her fingers as she buried the two men, letting only their heads stick out from the ground. "Too easy," she muttered.

"Keep your snorts quieter next time," Katara, who was next to her, whispered. "That one was pretty close. We were almost captured." Katara's seemingly glowing blue eyes peered out of the alley, signaling Aang and Jet, who were on top of one of the buildings across the road. Aang nodded once, and crept along the rooftop. She turned around to signal to Zuko, who was somewhere near them, that they were alright, but she bumped into someone. Her insides froze.

"Calm down, it's just me," Zuko's voice whispered, his arms reflexively going around her. She exhaled in relief.

"You scared me for a second," she said, enjoying the warmth of his body. It was a cold night in Omashu. They separated. A pair of golden eyes crept up next to Zuko, cat-like.

"Let's go," Azula said.

So far, their infiltration of Omashu was going smoothly. The eight were making their way up to the Palace while the majority of the soldiers were out and marching to the Earth Kingdom's southern shores to attack the Water Tribe. Aang and the others knew they had to stop the Arcanum before this could happen, and they made a plan to confront Long Feng in the Palace. June and Jojo were keeping slightly ahead of them, while Meng and Lee were forced to stay in the group's camp outside of the city.

Azula led the three of them, weaving expertly through the dark alleyways. Katara smiled lightly. She hoped her own stealth had gotten a little better.

* * *

Yasha's piercing amber stare hardened upon seeing the grey speck in the distance, recognizing it easily as the ancient airbender's bison. Who did he think he was, coming back to her after escaping! She had never seen anything so _stupid_. He had a perfect chance to escape, yet he chose to return, spoiling her joy and anticipation of the attack on Sozin City. He was mocking her, trying to threaten the power that she held.

They soon came close enough to let her see each individual on the back of the bison. Her brow furrowed in fury. The friends of the Avatar and her _dear_ sister Ursa had returned. What were they trying to do? They probably thought it would be funny to see her reaction! They were trying to take her power away!

_Calm yourself, Yasha_. Hmm... yes, she would strike them out of the sky, she decided. They were fools to think that they would land on _her_ Temple. They thought they were so _clever_ because all of her soldiers were gone. The woman took a step back, channeling her bending through her, making the proper movements necessary to create a bolt of lightning. The power filled to the brim inside of her, and she grew excited for her favorite part—the glorifying, deafening release of the lightning. Just as she was about to thrust her hand forward, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her arm and pulled back with a slight yelp, seeing a knife imbedded into it. The lightning was released in an uncontrolled, fiery explosion in front of her, throwing her back onto the ground. She snarled. "_Get them_!" she growled inhumanly.

The Combustion Man, next to her and awaiting orders, inhaled sharply, using his peculiar bending to strike them out of the air. A beam of light shot from the eye on his forehead, speeding toward the bison and exploding in the air. The creature soon emerged from the resulting cloud of smoke, unharmed. They landed somewhere below the two.

Fine, then. She would just have to go to meet them.

Yasha turned to the inner recesses of the Temple arrogantly, fully confident as she strode down to meet them, her hand on her large sword. The metallic _thump_ of the Combustion Man followed right behind her.

* * *

Before the great bison even landed, Nodoka sprang from its back and impaled one of the few remaining Arcanum soldiers with his spear. Guru Pathik did the same right behind him, hitting a man with an air-powered strike of his staff, throwing him against a pillar and knocking him unconscious. Mai threw knives into a man's vitals, instantly ending his life, as Teo shot and crippled another man. She glanced at the young boy, who was no longer a shaking mess as he shot people. "You missed," she said to him, needles appearing in her hand.

"No, I didn't," he said with a smirk, lifting his goggles back to his forehead.

In seconds, all of the common soldiers were defeated.

Nodoka cut at the ropes binding the airbender slaves, setting them free. Keioushi, instantly by his side, made the work faster with his bladed knuckles. He ignored Ty Lee, who was gnawing on the ropes unsuccessfully.

"You're free. Move," Nodoka told them. After their binds were cut, not a single person moved, staring at them blankly. The hope was lost from their eyes. "Let's go!" he said more sternly.

"They're your people," Keioushi said to Pathik. "Maybe they'll listen to you."

The old man stepped in front of them all. "Now's our chance to fight back," he said in his strange accent. "Our captors are gone from this place, and ready to attack the Fire Nation capitol with their war balloons. Only we can fight back!" Some turned and ignored him, going back to their work. Being imprisoned in their own homes was the only thing they knew since birth. Many of them had never even left the Western Air Temple.

"They won't listen to you," a voice called snidely. Seven pairs of eyes turned toward the giant stone doors as they opened, readying their weapons. Yasha was there, boldly striding into the small area they had seized, her hand loosely resting on the hilt of her sword behind her back. The fur collar rustled in the wind, smiling evilly. "They're useless, hopeless creatures. I never knew that the airbenders had no backbone!" She threw her head back and laughed as the half-metal man strode up beside her, silent and emotionless as always.

"Get them out of here," Nodoka said to Pathik, unnoticed by the manic woman. The old man, with a hard look in his eyes, nodded.

"You're insane!" Keioushi yelled, pointing a finger at Yasha.

Her laughter subsided, and she looked at him, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly. "Like I haven't heard _that_ before," she said, putting both hands behind her head to grip her deadly sword. She pulled it out from its large sheath in one clean pull, the wide, flat blade glinting golden in the setting sun. "Well, we better get this over with. I can't have you kids mucking up my plans. You were the ones stupid enough to come back here, anyway. I guess you're not worth keeping as slaves or hostages...

"I don't know, maybe Zuko would come here to save them."

"Are they even friends with little Zuzu?"

"They've _got_ to be friends with the silly little Avy-tar, at least."

"That dark-looking girl seems like his type..."

The others lowered their weapons somewhat as they listened to the woman argue with herself, debating on whether or not to let them live. She lifted her sword into an attacking position, a manic gleam entering her eyes as she grinned widely. "Let's get 'em!" she said horribly, but whether she was talking to herself or to the Combustion Man they didn't know. The look on her face made Nodoka fear her. Maybe, long ago, it could have once been considered pretty, but after she supposedly died the year before, her face was hideously scarred.

With speed belying what he expected, Yasha was in his face, swinging her sword with expert ease. He brought his long spear up to block it, but his arms immediately buckled under the weight, and he pulled back. Needles from Mai stabbed into her skin, but they seemed to do nothing to affect her. Keioushi wound his arm back to punch her in the face, but she beat him to it and her fist impacted against his. Nodoka swung his spear around to hit her where there was an opening, but she grabbed the shaft—still warding off Keioushi with her sword, held with one hand—and forced it away from her. Nodoka felt a small movement beneath his legs, and a pink blur shot up from under him and kicked Yasha in the abdomen, sending her skidding backwards. Ty Lee hopped up next to him and Keioushi, a fist held up and ready. Yasha merely smiled, and held up a hand to her blade, lighting it with a small flicker of fire. The roaring flames covered her whole sword, which could have only been covered in oil.

The three of them, plus Mai, rose up to the challenge.

* * *

This was it. They were nearing the Palace of Omashu, where they would meet Long Feng and end this before the problem could escalate further. He was the leader of the Arcanum, behind the wars brewing between the Nations. The current Fire Lord held his broadswords ready, just in case there were some guards protecting the outer walls of the Palace that he didn't know about.

There was a commotion down below. The Arcanum soldiers ran over to see what was happening, and Zuko, learned in stealth from his previous days as the Blue Spirit, crept over to the front entrance of the Palace. Unsurprisingly, it was Toph, who was using earthbending to destroy anything in her path. He knew she wouldn't be too good with stealth, but he had to admit, it was her style. More and more guards came to fight against her, but Jet and Azula were immediately by her side, helping her fight them off. Katara and Aang soon joined them, and Zuko felt compelled to help them, too.

It didn't really matter anymore. He supposed they would have to take the Palace by force.

Katara, now armed with two water skins and the moisture in the air, was doing brilliantly. Many of them fell down around her as Zuko joined her, blue fire and water blazing through their foes together. Rocks crumbled, and the next moment Aang was there, blasting an enemy out of his way.

"There's getting to be too many!" the Avatar shouted to them. Zuko grit his teeth and fought harder, but Katara's voice intervened.

"You two go on, we'll deal with them," she said, her blue eyes, shining clearly in the night, alight with confidence. Zuko acquiesced easily—he knew she would be fine. She was strong. He looked to Aang and nodded.

The Avatar and the Fire Lord rushed up the grand steps to the doorway of the Palace, ready to face the tyrannical earthbender. Just as Aang was about to blast open the door with his own earthbending, Dai Li agents dropped in front of them. Zuko lifted his swords again in defense, looking around the two. The Dai Li already made a full circle around them, and more and more were coming. In moments, they rivaled the amount that there were in the Crystal Catacombs, so long ago.

Aang tightened his grip on his staff, glaring out at the Dai Li. Just when they were _so close_... they were stopped by the troublesome earthbenders, which clearly outnumbered them. He was ready to drop his staff.

"Go get Long Feng," Zuko said quietly to him. Aang gaped, his eyes widening.

"Wh-what?!"

"Just do it," he commanded him.

"But... there's too many of them!" he said.

"Don't worry," the firebender said, sheathing his broadswords. "I'll deal with it."

* * *

The four fighters were herding the evil firebender away from On Ji, Teo, and the airbenders, which were all being brought to safety by Pathik. He still tried to rouse them to fight, but they were leaving the scene as if in fear, going up to one of the upper levels. The Guru followed them, anger seeping into his voice.

On Ji and Teo waited in front of the Combustion Man nervously as he watched the fights unfold with absolutely no interest, standing like a stone. Teo had his crossbow readied and aimed, and when it clicked to send off the arrow, the man threw up his metal arm to block it, inhaling sharply and immediately attacking them. On Ji was alarmed by the sudden offense, and was barely able to dive out of the way. Teo, on the other side of the blast, rolled with a quick push from his wheelchair. On Ji was worried for him. He didn't have as much maneuverability as the rest of them, and he might not be able to block the explosive attacks.

She knew the Combustion Man's fighting style well, because he was her first major opponent when he attacked the group's camp in the woods, when they were first captured. She feared the lights shooting from his head. He seemed unstoppable.

Teo's arrows ricocheted off of the man's metal arm, but one of them pierced the metal and stuck into it. Unfortunately, On Ji had suspicions that there was no flesh at all under there, and it did no harm to him whatsoever. As he was about to inhale and attack the boy, On Ji felt a sudden burst of protectiveness as she clumsily waved her arms, a sheet of fire rolling over the man. It wasn't that hot and it did little to harm him, but he was irritated and distracted, but ignored her as he tried to attack Teo again, deeming him the bigger threat. Yelling in fear and anger, the young firebender ran up to him, flames wreathing her fists as she tried to punch him in the face, but his metal arm came up and smacked her away like a rag doll, painfully making her slide against the ground.

On Ji groaned, hearing a metal stomp which signified the Combustion Man turning to attack her while she was defenseless. Teo was fumbling with his crossbow, trying to reload it in time to protect her. He kept panicking, dropping the crossbow bolts repeatedly, his fingers shaking too much for him to control...

There seemed to be a lot of time for On Ji as she heard the air enter the man's nostrils and the energy gather near his forehead. She felt as if she was going to die now, unable to stop this man, her last sight the horrific eye in the center of his head. Was it glowing brighter? She supposed it was readying to finish her off. She wondered if she was going to see her mother again. She was so brave, On Ji thought. She was a fighter in the Blaze Brigade, and she had died during the war. She must have died heroically. On Ji hoped that was the way it happened, like she always envisioned it.

But that wasn't the way it was happening for her. She was going to die uselessly, not able to do one final thing for her friends to help them as they fought this menace. Her eyes opened halfway, waiting for the Combustion Man to just _do it_ already. What was taking so long? Did her mother view her as a hero? Her thoughts wandered everywhere, and it seemed as if she was an infinity away from death. They came to her so fast... She couldn't be a hero. She wanted to protect her town when she left her school, but she failed, she supposed. It was not the way her mother would have wanted. It was not the way that _she _wanted. She wanted life. She wanted to be with her friends, with Teo.

Somehow, she found energy to rise into a sitting position, gathering the warmth up inside her for one last fire blast, one last chance at life. She thrust her hand forward just as the thin stream of light erupted from the man's third eye. For some reason, the fire didn't even come to her, but instead, the light beam broke into a million pieces, leaving a tiny, shining orb in front of her hand, where it was about to impact. On Ji stared at it for a moment as time seemed to freeze. It looked like a miniature sun. She reached out to grab it with almost childish curiosity, but at the slight movement of her fingers, the shards of broken light went back together into the beam.

By some complete miracle, the beam of light went the other way, _back at him_. The Combustion Man's eyes widened in a true feature of surprise before finding the wits to bring his arms up to protect his face. The explosion impacted against him, covering the man in fire and smoke as his heavy form was thrown back. The ground seemed to quake as he was thrown against the ground, and On Ji crawled up to his smoking, prone form.

His eyes were closed. Panic filled her quickly. Somehow, she had just killed a man! Even though he was an enemy that tried to kill her, she felt great sorrow. She wasn't supposed to do this... It was Agni and the other Greater Spirits' decisions to take life away! Not hers! She was only a young girl, and the gravity of the situation finally hit her. What was she doing? Tears came unbidden to her eyes, and Teo wheeled himself over to her.

The man beneath her groaned, eliciting a small gasp from On Ji. She looked at him, her eyes wide. Could it be? Could he still be alive?

"You are cursed," he said, his eyes moving to the girl. She didn't answer. What did he mean? "It was once considered a gift." His voice was deep, gravelly. Why was he speaking now?

"Don't talk, you're hurt," she said softly to him. "I'll get the airbenders. There's got to be somebody who can help!" She moved to get up, but her arm was quickly gripped by cold metal.

"No. You have the Gift. You have the Curse. Take it," he said, groaning. His skin was charred and blackened. His hand—the real one—lifted slowly, carefully moving over to her hand. For some reason, she didn't resist as he grabbed her hand with surprising gentleness. She felt the calluses in his fingers, the blood of all the people he had killed. His hand moved up toward his head with her small, delicate fingers in it. Her eyes locked on the Eye on his forehead, and she realized what he was trying to make her do. She couldn't bring herself to resist... she felt almost _compelled_ to touch it. Somehow, it didn't seem horrible or scary anymore. He brought her fingertips to rest against it, and her first reaction was surprise. It was hot, and upon closer inspection, it was nothing like a real eye at all. It was like a tattoo, or a raised portion of the skin.

Before she could think about it anymore, pain lanced through her arm and through her body, concentrating on her forehead. Her scream drowned out Teo's cry of worry. The pain was so much, _too_ much. Her eyes were wrenched shut as she wished for it to stop. She felt as if she was going to die. A second later, she knew nothing more and her head smacked against the ground, unmoving.

Teo almost fell off of his wheelchair, feeling helpless. When On Ji fell to the ground, his heart wrenched with pain, but a moment later he saw the light rise and fall of her chest, signifying that she was just unconscious. She no longer seemed to be in pain. His eyes moved to the prone form of the Combustion Man, who was now cold and obviously dead. He looked at the place that she touched, wondering why she felt so much pain upon doing so. The Eye on his forehead was gone.

Next to him, on the girl with the once neatly-trimmed bangs, the Eye lingered, staring out at him.

* * *

Zuko ignored Aang as he reluctantly left, his golden eyes shifting between each of his enemies, the Dai Li. They slowly moved in to surround him completely, leaving no openings. Aang easily jumped over them with his airbending, confident that Zuko would be alright. He was not one to underestimate people.

The Fire Lord took a firebending stance, closing his eyes gently. He breathed deeply, siphoning the heat out of the air, the chi all around him. He dropped in one fluid motion, kicking out his feet in a wide sweep at all of his foes, which released a blast of brilliant white fire. They fell before the blast even neared them, unable to stand the heat of the sun, concentrated enough not to harm Zuko. He jumped back to his feet before the Dai Li could retaliate, unleashing streams of white deftly from his fingertips, burning them to death so quickly that no pain was even felt. He bent his body to get them all, moving with the grace only a master of the art could.

In just a few moments, the entirety of the Dai Li fell, all destroyed by Zuko.

Taking another deep breath, calming himself from the feeling of so many lives quenched at once, Zuko moved back into a standing position. He bent his head once. Chi, the fuel for white fire, was a form of the spirit energy for Life, which was all around them. This form of firebending was not an inner source, like the rest were. It helped to be spiritually enlightened, like Zuko was, ever since Aang's explosive exit from the Phantom World. All of them were now, and he felt each of their deaths adding to his white firebending power. Unfortunately, it came with a price. With each use of white fire, Zuko risked absorbing the life force of himself, as well as the ones around him, effectively shortening his life and the life of others. He found it humorlessly ironic that the energy for life could be used to destroy so much.

Katara, and many of the others, still down by the gates of the Palace, watched with awe as they saw the white fire blasts being released into the air. When did Zuko become so powerful? She wondered.

* * *

Sweat streamed down Nodoka's face as his eyes widened with fear at the burning blade so close to his face. Yasha struck at him with her dangerous weapon, and he was able to parry with his spear, but just barely. Keioushi rammed into her with a solid blow from his fist, throwing her off of the spearman. Ty Lee sprang to attack the woman's chakra points, but knocked her away with the hilt of her sword, unable to maneuver the blade to strike her down.

Yasha ran at Nodoka again with her burning sword, grinning maniacally. He was forced to parry each of her strikes, having difficulty with keeping his hands away from the flames completely. He felt the skin on his knuckles burning. "Having fun, little boy?" Yasha teased him.

* * *

Up above, the formerly imprisoned airbenders finally seemed to show some interest in the fight, seeing one of their captors destroyed and the other one being attacked by four teens. "See what is happening?" Guru Pathik asked them. "They are fighting for your sakes, giving us a chance for the freedom we strove for a long time. The Fire Nation is no longer in control of the world—we do not have to live in hiding! There is a colony of airbenders to the east, building up a town for us and more. We need your help. The war balloons are going to attack the peaceful Fire Nation and begin war once again! Stop them! Stop them before war breaks out!"

Finally, there was a reaction to his words. Many of the younger ones smiled, while the older ones became hardened and ready for battle. These Air Nomads were a peaceful people, but they were ready to protect the threatened peace. Hope was instilled into them again, stronger than ever because of the Avatar's friends. While they rushed off to get their bison, Pathik jumped down to aid in the fight against Yasha.

* * *

Yasha was a bleeding mess, but she didn't seem to care. Mai's knives, darts, and arrows were imbedded into her skin all over her body, and she had been impaled more than once by Keioushi's bladed knuckles. Nodoka had long since unarmed her of her sword, but she attacked them with red flames with reckless fervor. Neither of them were able to get near, but when they saw her step back and begin to produce the familiar motions for lightning, they began to worry. Mai's projectiles did nothing to stop her movements. Yasha was grinning triumphantly.

Before she could aim properly, a blast of air hit her square in the face, finally throwing off her concentration as she shot the attack off to the side harmlessly. Guru Pathik lightly jumped into the fray, wielding a wooden staff heavily similar to Aang's.

"You meddlesome old man," Yasha snarled at him. He didn't respond as he swung his staff numerous times, bending the powerful air currents around her, throwing her back. She wobbled dangerously close on the edge of the Temple, but her eyes narrowed in anger as she shot a blast of fire from her palm.

Tremendous amounts of air and fire met right in the middle of them, and the airbender created a huge tornado to contain all of her flames. The inferno only grew, but Pathik was somehow able to keep it all under his control. Yasha was only feeding his weapon as she added more flames to the attack gleefully, all sanity lost.

With one enormous push that sapped all of his energy, the massive tornado of fire moved toward Yasha. From her viewpoint, it only increased in size, and she grew more and more excited at the thought of their deaths. Her happiness faltered as she realized that it was expanding too much, and it was close to consuming her. She took a step back, only to hit nothing. She looked back behind her, finally noticing the long drop that awaited her. She was trapped. For the first time in a long time, Yasha turned her head to look at the fiery tornado with fear as it engulfed her, falling down into insurmountable depths with her wreathed in it, her scream drowned out by the fire's roar.

Nodoka watched as the fire fell from the cliff, and now uncontrolled, burst well below them. He turned to the others. "We have to stop the war balloons from reaching Sozin City."

"How?" Ty Lee asked, nursing a bruised head.

"Look," Pathik beckoned. All heads turned to the sky as a swarm of one hundred strong bison flew toward the war balloon menace, each of them simultaneously roaring with freedom and victory. Pathik whistled, and a moment later a grey, furry form flew over to them. His bison let out a loud, happy moan as they all clambered onto him, ready to stop the Arcanum's leaderless forces.

* * *

The many bison fell upon the mechanical balloons easily, their speed easily outclassing the machines of war. The airbenders fearlessly jumped from their bison, spearing through the balloons with their staves and deflating them, sending the Arcanum plummeting to their deaths. They skillfully landed on their bison right after. Some tried hitting them with fire blasts, but they were parried by air as they each exercised their bending muscles again. Nodoka and the others barely participated in the battle, acting solely as observers. Only Pathik was able to fight them anyway, but he was tired out from his fight with Yasha.

They saw a group of airbenders easily infiltrate the metal, monstrous airship, getting rid of all firebenders in their way. Moments later, the flagship was riddled with explosions, as the tiny forms of the airbenders flew away on their gliders. They destroyed the bomb bay from the inside.

In less than an hour, the entire fleet of ships was destroyed by the Air Nomads on their bison, the latter of which suffered no casualties.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Whew, that was probably one of my favorite chapters in this story so far. It was lots of fun to write. That airship battle seemed to go by very quickly, but it was meant to. I don't think you'd all want that much action in one chapter anyway.**

**The Fire Nation storyline is finished. Just three chapters left until the end of the story! I hope you all liked this chapter. Please review!**


	18. Strength

**Author's Note: I know, I know, it's been a month now, marking my longest gap yet. Truthfully, I'm losing interest in this story, but after this, there are two more chapters to go, and I **_**will**_** finish it. Maybe it's just this chapter that I don't like. Anyhow, I have no excuses—it is purely laziness. I don't have the license yet to update whenever I feel like it- those are for the authors with thousands of reviewers XD**

**Previously on Avatar:** **Kinto the waterbender** was discovered to be in control of the **Southern Water Tribe **by **Sokka** and **Shuang**. In **Omashu**, **Aang** and his friends fought to the Palace to defeat Long Feng once and for all...

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 18: Strength_

Ever since he was a child, ever since he learned he could earthbend, it was all he wanted. _Power_. He exercised it against other children, tormenting them to get what he wanted. _Power_. He grew to love it, to _need _it. He thrived for it, and when he had it, he never wanted to let it go. He had lived a powerless life long enough.

Power.

He was born in Ba Sing Se to a pair of refugees fleeing the war. His parents were never loving or caring. His father went off to fight in the war, but he was killed when a traitor in the ranks threw up his camp in flames, of which there were no survivors. His mother was a cold, stern woman who was forced to do the odd jobs around the Lower Ring, and when he was older, he joined her. Eventually, they had to do servants' work in the Palace, and through a stunning web of lies and deceit imbedded into him by his mother, he was able to secure a high position in the palace. It was a thrilling game for him to usurp "traitorous" government officials and garner support from the inner members of the Palace. Before the King died, he managed to convince him he was deeply interested in the culture and safety of Ba Sing Se, and had a deep friendship with his young child. After his death, he was able to mold the young King's mind, just as his mother did to his own. He essentially ruled the Earth Kingdom, using Kuei as a puppet and a figurehead.

Later in his life, he began to scrounge for power, going through whatever means necessary to hold it. King Kuei was his first, major blockade, but an unexpected alliance with Princess Azula removed him. Shortly after, he planned to dispose of her, but she beat him to it. After his Dai Li agents freed him from prison, he went to offer his services to the Fire Lord. Power was finally within his sight, but he was defeated by the Avatar and his worthless friends.

Twice.

And he wouldn't let it happen again. He finally had power of his own after a full year of elaborate scheming, and once all four Nations were at war, he would be able to claim the world under the banner of the Arcanum.

* * *

Aang told himself not to worry for his friends. Katara, Azula, Jet, and Toph would definitely be okay, fighting alongside June the bounty hunter and Jojo the Kissing Bandit. They had faced much worse. He was confident that Zuko would win the fight against the entirety of the Dai Li, and his quick mind would give him some way to defeat them. He was the Fire Lord, and quite possibly the strongest firebender in the world. The Dai Li would be easy prey to him.

The unguarded palace of Omashu was chilling and quiet. He wondered where all of the people and guards were. Were they leading the army down below that was marching to fight against the Southern Water Tribe? Or were they readying a trap? As he came to a fork in the hallways, Aang thought about where to go.

Aang closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and knelt down, putting his fingertips against the cold floor. He sensed every vibration of the earth, every ripple in the ground. The whole Palace was deserted. Lots of rumbling from behind him signified the battle still going on outside of the Palace, but his reach also extended to the catacombs of Omashu, where he knew his friend Bumi and the founders of the city were buried. _There_. Long Feng was in the throne room, alone.

* * *

Katara ran as fast as she could to the entrance of the Palace, pumping her legs to her last breath. She ran far ahead of the rest of her friends. They had already wasted too much time fighting Omashu's guards, and she feared for Aang and Zuko. She had her suspicions about the flashes of white light she saw in the distance before, so she needed to get to the scene, quickly. June and Jojo were left behind to deal with the remaining guards, of which there were few.

She heard a deep rumbling behind her and felt the ground shake. She forced herself to come to a stop, fearing the worst, but it was only Toph skating past her on an earth wave, grinning to herself. As she was about to get running again, Azula and Jet sped by her, and with a sigh, Katara followed.

"Where did they get all this energy?" she moaned. When they all finally came to the entrance of the Palace, Katara and Toph were the first to locate Zuko, who was fighting his way to the inside, clearly sapped of energy. Katara reached him just as he fell to lean against the wall, sweat streaming down his face. "What happened?" she asked him worriedly, holding onto him. Her healing instincts immediately took over, and she donned a glove of glowing water to check for any wounds. When she saw that it was only exhaustion and overexertion, her forehead creased and she frowned. "What did you do?" It was then that she noticed the charred ground and dead Dai Li agents, with burnt clothing. She realized it must have been very hot, very concentrated fire that pierced them.

She was slightly afraid of the amount of power Zuko must have used, but she loved him, and hugged him tightly when he didn't answer.

"Where's Twinkletoes?" Toph asked, once she came to the same conclusion that Katara did.

"He went on ahead," Zuko said. He tried to go on to help the Avatar.

"You're staying here," Katara said firmly, gripping his soldiers and forcing him down to the ground into a sitting position. "You're too weak right now. We'll handle it."

* * *

A cloud of warm air blocked his view of the world below, his breath, a result of the cold all around him. Sokka looked down at all of the ships below, sailing off to war in the Earth Kingdom. He knew the Southern Water Tribe would never win... and relations between the two countries would be destroyed, because it was _supposed_ to be a time of peace. But since when did things that were _supposed _to happen ever actually happen?

He was trying to think of a fighting plan when Haru interrupted him. "Sokka, what should we do?"

"I don't know, I was only sitting here and staring blankly," he said sarcastically to him. Haru frowned.

"We'll have to go down and fight him," Shuang said, unfolding his arms with an exasperated sigh.

"What, are you crazy? He has a whole army down there supporting him!" Sokka protested.

"Yeah, but you're the son of their Chief. Maybe they'll listen to you," Shuang said.

"Obviously not! Why wouldn't they listen to my dad?"

Malu, who was sitting at the head of her bison, rolled her eyes. Suki came up behind her from the saddle. Jin joined them immediately after. "Let's get to the city," Suki told the airbender. They were hovering two hundred feet above the Southern Water Tribe fleet, and they were getting cold and bored. "We're going to free Hakoda."

"Gotcha. Those stupid boys can't agree on anything," Malu said.

Jin shrugged and shook her head. "We always have to take things into our own hands," she said. None of the three males arguing noticed the bison begin flying toward the city again as they continued bickering.

* * *

The Avatar burst through the doors to the Throne Room, landing in the center of the chamber and adopting a fighting stance readily, itching to fight Long Feng and get this whole ordeal over with. He was not surprised to see Long Feng sitting casually on the throne, enjoying the power he thirsted for so much.

"I see you have returned," the earthbender said.

"Yeah. And after this, we won't ever be seeing you again," Aang replied stonily.

"You've come without your friends," Long Feng mused, standing up and brushing himself off.

"Because this time I'm taking you down myself." Aang thrust out his hand, sending a disturbance through the ground that tunneled toward Long Feng, but the earthbender threw his hand down and put a crater in the ground, destroying Aang's attack before it could reach him.

"You don't want to talk? This is not the type of person you are, Avatar," he said with a smirk.

"I have nothing to say to you," Aang said coldly. Two jets of fire burst from his hands and he followed it up with two blasts of air from above. The attacks met in a fiery, smoky explosion, and from the other side of the room, Aang waited.

Three pillars of stone erupted toward the Avatar, but he lightly jumped off of them, cutting them to pieces with his waterbending to stop them from attacking him further. Stones flew at him, but they were cut in half by his thin water whips. Long Feng emerged from the smoke, unharmed, punching rocks at him. Aang jumped right over them, lifting a huge slab of stone from the ground and launching it at the earthbender. Long Feng crossed his arms in front of him and took the attack, bashing through the rock and crumbling it to pieces. Aang immediately followed it with cutting swipes from his numerous water whips, which grew in size and length.

The earthbender took them unflinchingly. They cut up his outer robes, but Long Feng looked completely unharmed. Aang landed on the ground, his brow furrowed.

"I will not be defeated that easily, Avatar," he said. "I did not get this high in rank for nothing. I am impervious to almost anything you can throw at me." He pulled back the sleeve of his robe, showing oddly dark fingers, a hand, and an arm. He was able to flex his fingers and move his arm, but it was totally covered in earth! "I call it stone skin," he said with a smirk. "It is the stone fingers of the Dai Li taken a step further. My whole body is protected by rock, which I can harden at will. I cannot accept failure."

* * *

"_I cannot accept failure, boy." The stern woman was coaching him as he sat down in the chair, silently taking her berating. The boy was in his teen years—young, and with a future ahead of them. His mother was growing old, her brown hair streaked with grey. She wore a constant frown on her face, always disapproving and critical._

_Their home was bare, with only one room. There was one bed, reserved for his mother, of course. There was a washtub and one single window, and one single, hard wooden chair in the center of the room, where the boy was sitting. Living in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se was not easy._

"_You cannot lose this job! Do what you need to keep it!" She paused as she saw his slumped form in the chair. "Fix your posture!"_

"_Yes, mother."_

_-_

"_Feng! Stop dreaming, get to work!" the head servant yelled at him. Feng was morosely staring out the window, watching the young Prince play outside with his pet bear cub. Feng was older, but he didn't want friends his own age. They made him uncomfortable. He wanted to talk to the younger boy._

"_Yes, sir," the boy said._

_-_

_He was twenty now. He was working late night, because he didn't want to go back home yet. He was sweeping the floors of the Palace clean after the guests came for the feast. As he turned the corner of the halls, he saw two people talking to each other in the middle of the hallway, and he quickly withdrew behind the corner, listening. They were the head servant and Cultural Advisor to the King, speaking in hushed tones._

"_I hope he knows that we have complete control over whether his son lives or dies," the head servant said._

"_Yes, but he refuses to acknowledge it. The King has fooled himself into thinking we are loyal to him. Do not worry yourself. We _will_ make him go to war instead of just protecting our borders."_

_Feng's eyes widened. He did not want to go to war! His father died in the war! He was scared... what if he was recruited?_

_The next day, both men were turned in to the Council of Five and tried for treason and blackmail. Feng was rewarded and promoted to the position of head servant._

_-_

_Over the years, Feng grew to appreciate the power he was wielding. He used it to eliminate political opponents after he ran for the office of Grand Secretariat. Later, he learned of an assassination attempt on the current King, just as he was deciding to go to war. Feng helped eliminate him, but afterward, blamed it on his allies. At the King's death, his young child Kuei became King. Now that his mother was dead and gone, her legacy lived on... Feng controlled the child from the shadows, essentially ruling all of Ba Sing Se._

Sokka, Shuang, and Haru finally stopped their arguing long enough to notice that they were getting closer to the city. "Okay, where's the prison?" Malu asked Sokka.

"Well, when I was here, we didn't have one yet..." Sokka answered, shrugging. "But I'd guess it would be in one of the middle rings. Kinto probably built it just for this purpose."

"There it is!" Jin said, pointing to the left-middle ring. "Let's go!"

"How can you tell it's the right place?" Haru asked.

"Well, the tons of guards patrolling around it are a pretty big hint," Jin said, crossing her arms. The moment the bison landed in front of the icy prison, Sokka jumped off of Yanna. All of the guards turned to him with their weapons raised.

"Let me in! I want to see my dad!" he yelled at them, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

"He is the son of Hakoda!" one guard yelled to the others. "Don't let him in!"

Fighting. Once again, he had to fight against his own people. Sokka, one solitary figure, rushed forward to meet them all, ignoring his friends' pleas behind him. He batted aside a spear with his meteorite blade and clubbed the man over the head with his other weapon, and spun around, the black sword striking out at his kinsmen. In moments, the handful of guards around him fell to the ground. He didn't kill a single one of them. They were regular people, none of them really trained for war.

"Sokka, are you okay?" Suki asked him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine, let's go. We have to rescue my dad," he answered, looking away from the fallen men. He walked forward, standing in front of the ice wall. It was another ice wall without a door, and Shuang wordlessly opened a portal for him, letting the water fall to the floor.

Inside, there was one guard, who noticed them with a start and sent water from the ground at them. Shuang stepped in front of the group and froze it, sending it back at the man in spikes of ice, pinning him to the wall. "Haru, Malu, Jin, stay outside and don't let anyone come," Sokka said to them. They nodded as Haru readied the sand from his gourd and Malu and Jin lifted their weapons. Suki folded her fans and walked with Sokka and Shuang.

The so-called prison was rather small. From what they could tell, it was a plain, rectangular hunk of ice with only one hallway going through the center. Sokka was beginning to wonder where the people were, or if it was even the right place.

"They're in the ice!" Suki suddenly yelled out, pointing at the wall in horror. Shuang immediately melted the wall away as Sokka rushed to see what was inside, or if they were even alive. Luckily, there was a perfectly stable, small square room inside, and small holes for air. The ice that blocked them off from the main hall was simply a wall.

It was the person in the room that alarmed them, particularly the way they were kept. "Master Pakku!" Shuang shouted out. The old waterbender was bound in chains, the links held by a metal plate in the ice walls. His arms were held out on both sides, and he was in a kneeling position on the floor. He was unconscious. Shuang melted the water around the metal links, and Sokka caught the man before he fell to the floor. He was very cold, and very thin. Sokka wondered how long he was kept in here.

A sudden knocking on the wall next to them alarmed him, and with a start, Sokka realized it was his father! "Dad!" he shouted. Shuang immediately bended the ice away and Hakoda walked out to them, smiling in relief and greeting. Surprisingly, Gran-Gran walked out behind him. "Gran-Gran? What are you guys doing here? What happened?" Sokka asked them. His grandmother immediately hurried over to Pakku, sat down, and took his head in her lap.

"He is very sick," she told him, her wrinkled face etched even more with worry.

"Sokka," his father said, accepting him in a hug. "I'm very glad to see you here. They're both here because they fought against Kinto, in different ways, to stop him," Hakoda informed the three, indicating Pakku and Kanna. "He's a madman, with many supporters. He has absolute control of the city."

"We're going to have to fight him," Sokka decided. "If we can get to his ship, the rest of the fleet won't open fire on us, and we'll take him down."

"And after that?" Suki asked.

"Once he's gone, I think my own men will come back onto our side. Without a leader, they'll be helpless in battle," Hakoda said. "But we have to hurry. We can't let war break out, so we have to stop him now." He turned to Shuang. "You're a waterbender, right? Take these walls down. Everyone in here was thrown in because they supported me."

"Yes, sir," Shuang said. He adopted a waterbending stance and pulled water away from the ice walls, opening the cells and letting the prisoners free. Someone coughed from behind them.

"Your form is terrible, Pupil Shuang," Pakku said, trying to pull himself into a sitting position.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'll work on it right away," Shuang answered with a grin. "It's good to see you, Master."

"Likewise," Pakku answered. At that moment, four white, furry forms flew playfully into the prison, followed by a disgruntled airbender.

"Get back here!" Malu yelled at the bison calves, waving her arms through the air. She cornered them in the room with Sokka, Shuang, Hakoda, and the others, which was beginning to get crowded. The other Water Tribe men looked at them confusedly. "Um... hi," Malu said to them with a little wave, hefting one of the bison in her arms.

Hakoda ignored her, turning to Sokka. "We have to leave, _now_."

"Yeah," Sokka said. "Gran-Gran, you're staying here with Pakku, right? Can you watch these bison? It'll be too dangerous for them."

The old woman blinked. "I'd love to."

* * *

His white robes billowed as his air barrier was being pelted with hundreds of tiny rocks, and he held up his hardened palm in order to keep up his shield. Aang bent his wrist slightly forward, and then shot out his palm again, causing the barrier to expand all around him into an offensive attack. His opponent's rocks were sent soaring throughout the throne room.

Aang bent down, focusing on the softer firebending techniques he and Zuko learned from Iroh himself. It detailed keeping a steady, peaceful mind and graceful, controlled movements as opposed to the furious, uncontrolled attacks of novice firebenders. As Aang bent flexibly, a wave of blue fire swept out at Long Feng, and the Avatar jumped on his own version of the earth wave after him.

In response, Long Feng plunged his hand into the ground, disrupting Aang's control of the earth wave as he rode towards him, and the Avatar was sent soaring through the air for the rest of the way. Before he could right himself with his airbending, a stone bulleted from the ground, hitting him directly on the spine. The impact reawakened old pains, and Aang was seized by the desire to cry out, which he had no control of stopping. Once again, his thoughts used the pain to dredge up memories of the lightning surging all around him, and he screamed in agony as if feeling it all again. But he remembered something else.

He had _control_ of it now.

Without knowing it, Aang turned his body towards Long Feng in midair, feeling the energy crackling to life in his hands. With his eyes wrenched shut tightly and no way of knowing exactly where the earthbender was, Aang let it all out in one moment of glorifying release. Long Feng's cold eyes widened in surprise and fear—he had not expected the Avatar to recover so soon. Pieces of earth were brought in front of him for a hope of defense, but the Avatar's powerful lightning crashed right through it, sending the pieces of rock flying throughout the room all around him.

Katara, Toph, Jet, and Azula entered the Throne Room just in time to see Long Feng's smoldering body fall to the ground, lifeless. At the same time, Aang landed on solid ground, but fell to his knees shortly after, clearly in pain. Katara moved to help him, but Toph blocked her from going any further.

"Wait," the blind earthbender said.

A booming laugh echoed throughout the chamber, long and drawn out, making them all recognize it vaguely. Jet readied his swords in his hands, expecting another fight. Yao the firebender entered the room, followed by Sirena and Krag. The waterbender's arms were folded contemptuously, her eyes a sea of black as she glared at Katara in anger.

"Thanks for getting rid of him for us," Yao said with a triumphant smirk. "You've proved that you're useful after all."

* * *

The chilly Southern Water Tribe air bit into his lungs as he breathed deeply in anticipation for the upcoming battle. He gripped his black blade tightly as Malu flew them to the sea on the saddle of her bison, Yanna. His father, Hakoda, was with them, readying himself for battle just as the others were. Shuang's icy blue eyes were eager to get back at Kinto. Suki was at his side, in full Kyoshi Warrior regalia, with her fans and katana ready to fight. The Water Tribe warrior was slightly upset that Pakku couldn't be there—as they flew, he was being nursed back to health by Kanna. It seemed that Shuang would be the one to fight Kinto in a true waterbending duel.

Kinto's fleet was just coming into range. They had long left the icy gates of the Southern Water Tribe, and were now on their way to the southern shores of the Earth Kingdom. Kinto's men, noticing the bison in their range, sent a block of ice in their direction. Shuang, the only one of the group with enough skill to stop it, held out his hand and grasped the ice, pulling it under his own force and turning it into water. He manipulated it into a sort of slide, and with his waterbending, slid down it skillfully and landed on the deck of Kinto's flagship, which happened to be all the way in the back.

The cruel trickster himself was on the deck, glaring at Shuang as the second waterbender landed. Soldiers began to surround Shuang on all sides, but Kinto snarled at him in anger. "You don't know when to give up, do you?! I'll kill you! Get away from me!"

Shuang willed himself not to see the face of his old friend in the evil, angry glare of Kinto, and painfully tore his face away. He reached for water underneath the ship, and began the attack.

Malu was the first one to jump down onto the deck to aid Shuang, being the only airbender of the group. Her staff swept out at Kinto's soldiers, of which there weren't many. Despite the amount of ships, the crews weren't too large, considering the population of the Southern Tribe hadn't fully grown yet. They were all clad in leather and wearing wolf-shaped helms, and as she began fighting them off, Yanna landed on the deck right next to her. Haru, Sokka, Jin, Suki, and Hakoda jumped from the bison's back. Now, the other ships wouldn't dare fire on their own flagship. She smiled at Haru as he stepped beside her, pulling sand from his gourd.

Three spears of ice were launched at Shuang, Sokka, and Hakoda, courtesy of Kinto. Shuang prevented them from being impaled by calling up a stream of water that crossed in front of them, catching the spears. Before Kinto could follow up the attack, Hakoda rushed toward him with his own spear, but before he could reach him, Kinto hurriedly washed him away with a wave of water, causing Hakoda to slide down the deck, sopping wet. In an astounding feat of balance, Sokka ran along the banister of the wooden ship, aiming to slice Kinto's head from his shoulders. He jumped toward the waterbender with a mighty yell, but he dodged out of the way and hit him with a fountain of water, knocking him back. Quickly regaining his bearings, Sokka went onto the attack again, swinging his meteorite sword with precise skill. Hastily conjuring a spear of ice, Kinto entered into fierce combat with the warrior.

In between attacks, Kinto pulled up a water whip to bat Sokka away from him, and just as he was about to stab him with his ice weapon, more liquid pushed Kinto away from Sokka, where he fell overboard. Shuang prepared himself to bend on short notice, putting his hands out in front of him. He took a deep breath, and when he exhaled, frosty air hovered in front of his face. Hakoda and Sokka stood up as the battle against the soldiers behind them continued.

A huge pillar shot out of the ocean, splashing a torrent of water on the deck of the ship. The other ships around them, including the one they were on, rocked as the ocean waves grew angry. On top of the pillar sat Kinto on a water snake, in a fierce waterbending position. Shuang ran to the bow of the ship, and dove overboard. Sokka and Hakoda ran to the sides, looking down below them in a panic.

Seconds later, Shuang emerged on a second water snake, just as big as the first one. In moments, the battle was fought purely on the water. Both sent jets of the ocean at each other, shook the waves beneath them, and froze sections of their water snakes, only to recover or block the attacks. They rode along with the fleet toward the Earth Kingdom as they fought. After a while, Sokka grew _bored_.

"This fight is going nowhere, we have to do something," he said to his father. Suki and the others had finally finished fighting all of the soldiers on Kinto's flagship, and now had them tied up in ropes. Suddenly, the ship seemed to be slowing, and the water around them flattened its waves.

"You spoke too soon, Sokka," Suki said, sighing. Kinto was the source of the disturbance, and a gigantic wave was growing behind him. It threatened to topple not only the flagship, but several others in the fleet. The wave was pulling on Shuang's water snake, and the waterbender was doing all he could not to topple and be sucked under. The soldiers from the other ships looked at Kinto in fear.

"What are we going to do?" Haru asked.

"I've got an idea," Hakoda said, looking at Sokka. "Why don't you use the boomerang I got you years ago?" He glared accusingly at Sokka, who grinned sheepishly. Apparently, his dad didn't appreciate his use of the meteorite blade over his other Water Tribe weapons. Hakoda's glare faltered and he grinned at his son, pulling Sokka's boomerang from the sheath on his back and handing it to him.

"Thanks, Dad," Sokka said to him. The young warrior aimed, pulled the weapon back, and let it fly.

The weapon whistled through the air, accurately striking Kinto on the head. The attack momentarily dazed him, and he lost balance on his water snake. He stumbled and fell into the water, where his own wave crashed down on him. Sokka and Hakoda cheered.

Shuang took upon himself the solemn duty of ending the fight, by holding the dark waterbender under the water with his own bending, even though he was unconscious from the wave that crashed into him. After several tense minutes, Shuang deemed that he was dead, and let the underwater ocean currents carry him away. Now, he was _definitely_ gone.

Every single eye of every single soldier was on Shuang at that moment, as he stood victorious on his own water snake over Kinto. The waterbender was suddenly gripped with fear as he noticed every soldier on every ship out on their respective decks, with their eyes all on him. Feeling unusually modest and solemn, the elevation of his water snake lowered and he stepped onto the deck of the flagship without a word, alongside the others.

It was then that they all noticed Hakoda, who was standing at the bow of the ship with his arms crossed. Sokka recognized it as the look his father gave him and his sister when they were in trouble. Once the soldiers noticed this look, they all broke down into pleas of forgiveness.

"Enough!" Hakoda boomed. Sokka winced. _Here it comes..._ "I should just imprison you all for what you have done. You've been disloyal, disrespectful, dishonorable, and cowardly _savages_. After my travels in the Earth Kingdom, I've learned a great many things about what the other Nations think of us—and it is just that. It makes me ashamed of my own people." After this, he paused, letting the words sink in. Sokka was glad, mostly because it wasn't directed at him for once. "_However_," he said. "... I know of the blackmail, the threats, and the lies Kinto and his followers told to get you all to join his cause. He _wanted_ to revive the war between the Nations, and you were merely his tools. As your rightful Chief, I speak to restore balance to the Southern Water Tribe's way of life. I will extend the hand of mercy, and if you do accept my ways, then this whole ordeal will be forgotten. The way of water is the way of friendship and change. Let us follow that path."

There was a pause. Sokka gripped the hilt of his sword, expecting them to forsake his words and attack them. Surprisingly, after a moment, they all fell to their knees in a sea of blue, bowing reverently to Hakoda. "So be it," Hakoda said with a short bow to the rest of them. He turned around and put a hand on Sokka's shoulder, smiling down at his son. He seemed relieved. "Let's go back home," he said to the captain of the flagship. The defeated soldiers on the ground reminded tied up with rope, as they were Kinto's trusted followers from the beginning.

"Yes, sir!" he saluted, grinning. "Thank you, sir!"

Suki threw her arms around Sokka and kissed him. "We did it," she said happily. He realized then that he hadn't told his father about his early marriage to her. _Well_, he decided, _there will be time for that later_. Jin, Haru, and Malu walked up to them, smiling and talking cheerfully, and Sokka slapped his hand against Shuang's, and clasped his arm. The two grinned.

They had done it. They had won. Peace was brought to the Water Tribes again, but as Sokka looked out over the horizon, he couldn't help but wonder how the rest of the world was doing.

* * *

**Man, what a difficult chapter. I'm so glad it's over.**

**Trivia: With slight variations, King Kuei's name can mean either "leader" or "puppet."**

**The sentence, "Now, he was **_**definitely**_** gone," is sort of my own little message to you guys- sorry for the 'probably,' way back in the Serpent's Pass chapter, where he was previously thought to be killed.**

**For those of you wondering why Zuko gets tired easily after using white fire, he is not used to it, and he never will be. Ozai used it freely, but Zuko recognizes the risks and uses it conservatively. If Ozai was never killed, he wouldn't have lived to his full age anyway, because the white fire sapped away his life so much. According to my own estimations, he would have only lived for ten or twenty years longer, which is incredibly young. And if you were all wondering why Zuko exhibited the use of white fire quite easily last chapter, he's been practicing in secret throughout the course of the story, ever since Azula taught them how. Even though it seems immensely powerful—maybe even strong enough to disrupt the balance—I gave it a crucial weakness to counter that. In addition, in the future, precious few firebenders will be skilled enough ever again to bend white fire.**

**And I'm sorry for the long gap, again. I haven't been motivated to write lately, and the biggest Avatar craze for a while this weekend really had me distracted... Also, I'm not a fan of this chapter and it was difficult to tackle it. Please review, if I have any of you left, but no matter what, this story will be finished.**

**Finally! The Water Tribe storyline has ended.**


	19. Balance

**Author's Note: Well, here it is! The final chapter, where all of the plots will finally be wrapped up. Stay tuned for the epilogue after this!**

**Previously on "Avatar": The menaces in the Fire Nation and Water Tribes have finally been defeated, yet Long Feng's defeat in Omashu wasn't the end of Aang's troubles. Now that three of the Arcanum's leading benders revealed themselves, Katara, Toph, Jet, and Azula have to fight them off. At the same time, Kei's group combats against an evil airbender in Akikaze...**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Chapter 19: Balance_

"I hate this!" Lee grumbled, kicking a pebble in anger. Meng, who was sitting on Appa's tail, frowned apologetically at him.

"There's nothing we can do," she said. "They told us to stay here." Katara's words to her before they left to retake Omashu still rang through her head.

_-_

_Aang, Toph, Zuko, Katara, Jet, Azula, June, and Jojo were all ready to leave their meager campsite, eager to take back Omashu. Lee was begging Aang to go, but he told them not to. It was too dangerous for them. Meng knew Lee was getting sick of hearing that phrase. The young boy crossed his arms and pouted over near Appa, with Momo resting on his shoulders._

_  
"May the Fates smile on all of you," Meng said to them, offering her good wishes. She still took her fortuneteller training seriously—it was the only thing she could do to appease Aunt Wu's spirit and keep her alive. When she was older, she still hoped to take up the old woman's profession._

_Katara frowned at her again, a confused expression in her eyes. As the others began to walk off, the waterbender walked over to Meng and kneeled down next to her._

"_According to our destiny, we won't be able to do this, right?" she asked her skeptically. Meng didn't answer, holding her hands behind her back shyly. She said that when she was empty of hope, when her family and everyone she knew was taken away from her. She also said it must have been the village's destiny to be destroyed, sooner or later. "Well, we've come this far, haven't we?" Katara asked her with a gentle smile._

"_I-I guess..." Meng said._

"_Aunt Wu taught us something important. She said we can shape our _own_ destinies, and I'm living the way that _I _want to. I won't let someone like Long Feng take over the world. We'll win, and then I'll show you how to live your own life. Destiny is a funny thing. It is always changing, so you can't always rely on it, you know?" Katara put a hand on her shoulder._

"_Yeah," Meng answered, smiling. Katara gave her one last friendly squeeze, and ran to catch up with her friends._

"_Don't forget what I said!" Katara yelled back to her._

-

Meng smiled. "Well, instead of sitting here, we should do what _we_ want to do!" she said to her companion. Lee looked up at her hopefully.

"You mean... go down and help them?" he asked.

"Do you wanna?"

"Yeah! Let's go help our friends!" he cheered.

* * *

"Soundbending?" Lani asked. "What madness is that?" Maiguo, the dark airbender, grinned gleefully when she asked, as the battle kept raging on all around them. Ruo-Feng was still shakily trying to pull herself up from the ground, after her loss in the fight against him. Song was astounded by the airbender's speed. The saffron-robed airbender paced in front of all of them. Kei was ready with his sword, just in case he decided to make a quick move. Song was ready with her slingshot behind him. Smellerbee fingered her dagger, just in case, as Longshot had his bow held and ready. Lani held out her glider, ready to perform airbending. Ruo-Feng was a much stronger bender than she was, but she still lost. Lani had no hope of winning.

"In my many years of _imprisonment_ in the Western Air Temple, I sought a more powerful method of airbending and a way to perfect it. Imagine my surprise when I found just the means to accomplish that. It was as if my age-old ancestors had it built for just that reason: the All-Day Echo Chamber," Maiguo explained, a smirk growing on his face.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kei asked.

"Because of that room," Maiguo went on, "I learned the true nature of sound itself and how it works. Sound waves travel through the air, using a complex means of vibrations with each higher pitch. In my studies inside that room, I learned how to use a mechanism in the center that enhanced the sound waves, which was the main reason the echoes continued in the chamber for a full day. I thought, how do the sound waves travel through the air? How does that apparatus enhance them? How can _I_ harness that power?" He stopped pacing, and held his arms out. "When I grew tired of my home, I traveled around the world, discovering many new techniques and many different peoples. I learned the concept of soundbending from the waterbenders and the earthbenders. With their elements, they can carry substances... and I remembered my studies in the Echo Chamber. Sound waves were difficult, but after many years, I learned how to control them with my own airbending. And thus, a new technique was born." Maiguo spread his feet outward, and held his hands forward. "Ready for a demonstration?"

Before any of them could answer, the airbender clapped his hands together. The effect was immediate. The air rippled all around him and expanded in all directions, causing the ground itself to contort as something shook through the space surrounding them. An extremely high-pitched screeching sound accompanied it, and the powerful pulse as well as the screeching sound had them all down on the ground, hands attempting to cover their ears as some of them screamed in agony.

Mercifully, Maiguo didn't keep the sound going for long, but neither of them knew if it was because he chose to or because he couldn't. Every single one of them—even the people battling all around them—were reduced to the fetal position. After the sound stopped, Kei was able to pull himself to his feet. His eardrums were vibrating and he felt an intense ringing in his ears, making his head ache severely. He withdrew his hands from his ears, but he was shocked to find small amounts of blood on his fingers. His friends were also getting up around him, ready to stand up to Maiguo once again.

Before they could recuperate, Maiguo attacked again, this time on a much smaller scale. Sonic waves rushed out at Kei faster than his eyes could follow, clashing with his abdomen and producing that abnormal screech again. He yelled out in pain as it sent him to the ground, his head dizzy. Maiguo repeated the attack on Smellerbee as she rushed forward to attack him, and she was thrown back similarly. They could do nothing against him. He would continue to wear them down—which was what the technique was designed for, Kei realized—until he could finish them off. And they could do little to stop it, because sound itself was thousands—perhaps millions—of times faster than any of them.

The dark airbender was about to attack Song with his sonic waves when he was hit by a similar distortion in the air, and he was thrown to the side. Song looked to the source of the attack, surprised to see Ruo-Feng still on the ground, her palm thrust forward as she panted from her last attack and the pain she still felt. Longshot took the chance and released an arrow on Maiguo, but the airbender was able to recuperate fast enough to deflect it with an air barrier.

The airbender whispered into his hand, his words completely lost to his 'audience.' However, with a single wave of his hand, another sound wave expanded outwards, and they were able to hear his voice, "You are a quick learner. It took me years to learn the art of soundbending. Too bad you won't get the opportunity to master the technique!"

"Nice trick!" Lani suddenly yelled, swinging her staff out at Maiguo. A blast of air caught him off guard and he was thrown back. "Too bad it's not gonna work on us anymore! We won't give you a chance!"

Smellerbee pounced on him with her dagger, slicing only air as he was able to stand and dodge each of her attacks, laughing to himself. A blast of air from his palm threw her away from him. Once she was out of the way, another arrow was shot at him from Longshot, which was similarly deflected.

"Oh, dear children, soundbending isn't the last of my tricks."

* * *

"You guys again! Didn't we scare you off last time?" Toph asked the three benders. Yao the firebender, Krag the earthbender, and Sirena the waterbender stood with them in the remains of the Omashu throne room, the previous battlefield of Aang and Long Feng, who were both lying on the ground. Long Feng's smoldering body was obviously dead, as they had seen Aang's finishing lightning strike on him, but Toph still felt vibrations from Aang's body. She wasn't worried for him. Her boyfriend was tougher than he looked!

"One meaningless loss isn't enough to deter us from our cause," Krag said quietly, his voice muffled by the sandbender mask in front of his face.

"Which is what?" Katara asked, opening the top of one of her four water pouches.

"Rule the four Nations, of course," Sirena replied scathingly. Her glare was still fixated on Katara.

"That interferes with Long Feng's plan," Jet growled. "You guys were planning to double-cross him!"

"That doesn't fit," Azula said suddenly. "I remember him telling us how he offered you positions of high power. Why did you want him killed? You're all fools."

"Not true," Yao corrected her, wagging his finger. "That wasn't us he was giving leadership to—it was Yasha."

"That woman?" Azula asked. It was one of the first times Katara saw true surprise on her face. "She still lives?"

"That's impossible!" Katara exclaimed.

"Nope. She's been allied with Long Feng this _whole_ time," Sirena said, crouching down. She was twirling ice daggers in her hands, eager to fight. Her icy blue eyes continued to glare at Katara from behind the blue veil that covered her mouth and her nose.

"Now, with him out of the way, I can control the Fire Nation, the waterbender gets the savage Tribes, Krag gets the Earth Kingdom, and Maiguo gets the Air Nation," Yao said, punching his fists together. Sirena scowled at him.

"Who's Maiguo?" Jet asked, looking around, expecting another attacker.

"He's not here," Sirena said, opting to rest her arms on her knees, apparently bored. "The airbender's attacking Akikaze as we speak."

"What? An evil airbender?" Katara gasped.

"Yupp," Sirena said. "Oh, you're so naive and innocent. Even airbenders have their black sheep-dogs."

"Okay, so we get why you guys wanted Long Feng dead. Now, it's your turn to get outta the picture!" Toph yelled, stomping her foot. The ground rippled out toward Krag, who jumped above it and slammed his fist down, crushing her attack. He landed a few feet away.

"Finally!" Sirena exclaimed, tossing her ice daggers at Katara. The other waterbender was quick enough to deflect them with a thin stream of water. Sirena jumped toward her, using new daggers to attack her in a furious onslaught. Thin tendrils of water were pulled from Katara's first water pouch as she fought with the water as her weapon, deflecting each strike of the ice daggers. She knew she had the upper hand already—Sirena's movements were becoming quick and erratic; she was getting frustrated.

"Want another demonstration of bloodbending?" Katara asked her opponent with a smirk. Sirena's eyes widened, and then narrowed in anger. Katara remembered well the fear that the young woman showed when she first used that ability on her. She called Katara a monster.

Sirena's blue eyes rapidly turned black, and the girl was fuming. "You _bitch_! I don't know how you learned how to do that, but I came up with my own ability!" Sirena thrust her hand forward and clenched her fingers together, an angry snarl on her face. At first, Katara felt no attacks, but once Sirena gently pulled her hand away, Katara felt her own right arm moving toward it. Alarmed, she tried to take a hold of her own blood before the other waterbender could. If this wasn't bloodbending, what could she be doing?

Katara's unasked question was answered a moment later when a thin, wispy stream of water was pulled out of her fingertips, floating toward Sirena, who wore a triumphant smirk. Katara's eyes widened when she saw the skin all around her hand rapidly drying. "You see? If I keep doing that, your body will shrivel dry!"

"I won't let you!" Katara yelled, her face turning serious as she fell into a bending stance.

Blue flames circled up and down Azula's arms as she vehemently attacked Yao. The other firebender attacked little with regular blasts of fire from his hands and feet, opting instead to shoot fireballs and flames from his mouth. The two traded blows for a long time, until Jet decided to step in.

The ex-Freedom Fighter crossed his twin tiger-head hook swords together to block the latest ball of fire, and pulled them apart to dissipate the flames. Before Yao could attack again, Jet was on the offensive, swinging his swords at the firebender. Just as Jet was about to inflict a dangerous wound on him, Yao brought his arms up to block, catching the sword on his armlets. Yao smirked and inhaled, gathering fire in his mouth.

Before he could let off the attack, Jet kneed him in the stomach, causing Yao to choke with pain. Jet stepped back as Yao bent over, and Azula was ready behind him with a fiery disc. Yao was able to roll out of the way just in time, as Azula's blue disc cut past him and dug deep into the stone wall. As soon as it passed, Jet attacked again, this time hooking his two swords together and swinging one end of the hilt, which was sharp just for this purpose. It gave him extra reach, and it was just enough to cut Yao's bare shoulder. He growled in fury.

Toph's pale green eyes stared blankly as she moved through her attacks, sliding her bare feet across the rocky ground with each earthbending attack. Rock spikes flared out at Krag, who blocked them with a wall of sand from an unusual gourd on his back. Toph clenched her fingers together, bringing down stone pillars on either side of him. He used his own earthbending to hold them back, and let them simply drop to the floor. Then, he plunged his hands into the ground.

The ground around the blind earthbender quaked as she tried to figure out what was going on. Then she felt it—the ground was crumbling beneath her feet. She took a step back and tried to kick another attack out at Krag, but she felt it rise out of the ground, and then fall. Then she realized her 'vision' was getting fuzzy. She wiggled her toes, feeling the ground beneath her. It was sand. Unknown to her, Krag smirked beneath his mask. He gathered sand to his sides all around him and rushed at Toph with the attack, sending them out at her in two concentrated jets. She was pushed back, where she landed with a thud on the sandy ground.

She closed her eyes—an unconscious reflex—and concentrated, digging her fingers into the ground and trying to feel the not-so-distant rumbles of battle around her. First, she was able to see Katara battling Sirena, and then Azula and Jet fighting Yao. They were all still on solid ground. She clenched the sand in her fist, turning it into a stone, which was hurled at Krag. She pushed herself up and ran blindly into the direction of solid ground, flinging her hand behind her and calling up fountains of sand to attack him, though she didn't know his exact location. Before she could reach solid rock, she fell. She didn't know how she did it, but she must have tripped. She clenched her teeth. She wouldn't let this creep of a sandbender get her! She closed her eyes again as Krag rumbled toward her with more sand to bury her with, concentrating. She knew they were inside a building, so there had to be more solid ground under them _somewhere_. She sent the vibrations deeper, feeling for any solid rock... _There!_ she yelled in her mind. She smirked triumphantly, and pulled at it.

Before she could completely unearth it, Toph was hit with a huge amount of sand from her spot on the ground. She tried to push herself up, but the weight was too much. She tried to yell out, but her voice was muffled and her mouth quickly filled with sand. In moments, it covered every inch of her body. She couldn't breathe. She was going to die...

The rock wasn't far beneath her now, she realized. Somehow, she was able to calm herself enough to _pull_ at it. Her lungs were on fire. The weight was beginning to squeeze and make her lose even more precious air. She couldn't lose. She couldn't lose her air. It made her think of Aang's motionless body on the ground, not far away from her... _No! He would never give up! I will never give up!_

And just like that, the rock spike unearthed itself. And with that, Toph was able to smack her hand against the ground, using the little space she had. The sand and the ground shook all around her, loosening her sandy prison. She was able to bend her way out of her would-be tomb. A moment later, her tiny hand emerged from the pile of sand, followed immediately by her head, covered in dirt. She spit the sand out of her mouth, welcoming the sweet air back into her lungs. Once she caught her breath, she was able to pull the rest of her body out of the mound.

Once she was in a standing position, she began to wonder why Krag hadn't attacked her yet, or why he didn't keep suffocating her under the sand. She extended and solidified her reach, and was able to spot her island of rock she created. And on it was an impaled body, barely recognizable. But she knew it was Krag, even though he lacked a pulse. Toph cringed. She didn't mean for it to happen like _that_.

Nevertheless, she sighed with relief. He was trying to kill her, so he definitely deserved it.

* * *

Zuko limped down the long corridor, leaning on the wall for support. He was holding onto his side, which was in pain. His whole body was in pain and drained of energy. But he had to get to his friends. He had to help them. Katara's last words still echoed through his head, _"You're too weak right now. We'll handle it."_

At that moment, he heard the mighty roar of a bison behind him. He turned his head to look. It was Appa, with two passengers on him—Meng and Lee, both cheering excitedly. Appa was flying just along the floor, knocking down ornamental vases as he crashed through the hallway. He seemed just as eager to help as they did. Zuko spotted his chance. Once they neared him, he threw himself down on the floor.

Appa, luckily, spotted him just at the right moment, and he was able to skid to a stop dangerously close to Zuko. Meng and Lee had apparently noticed that they stopped, for they looked down to see the firebender.

"Zuko!" Meng yelled out. "C'mon Lee, let's help him." The two children hopped down from the bison's head, pulling Zuko up and putting both of his arms around their shoulders.

"What the heck happened to you?" Lee asked.

"It's a long story," he answered. "What are you two doing here?"

"We came to help!" Meng said, grinning widely. "Where are they?"

"In the throne room fighting Long Feng," Zuko replied, his voice hoarse. They led him up Appa's tail, and they continued to the throne room determinedly.

* * *

The battle around them was finishing as the earthbenders and airbenders were able to disarm the Arcanum soldiers. But the other battle unfolding in the fields was far from its end.

Maiguo revealed the inside of his robes, showing clothes that were just like Aang's underneath. Holding his robes open, Maiguo dramatically picked a pouch from his belt, of which there were many. "This type of bending uses the same idea as soundbending," the airbender told them, grinning. "But this one is much harder to avoid. Watch!"

Surprisingly, when Maiguo opened the first pouch, a cloud of powder emerged, floating on the air. Maiguo began a sort of subtle dance, maneuvering the cloud over to them. The members of the Avatar Gang didn't know what to make of it, or how to stop it. Maiguo was moving his fingers like some sort of puppetmaster, controlling the air so precisely that he was able to move the powder over to them without creating a single gust of wind. It stopped right above them. They waited for something to happen next.

Suddenly, some of it dropped with unexpected speed, clashing with Kei's face. The warrior jumped back surprisingly, but the powder was gone. He had inhaled it! Song ran over to his side.

"What did you do?" she demanded of Maiguo. The dark airbender didn't answer, and she turned to Kei again, who was choking. Very quickly, she realized it was poison, and the effects were immediate. Kei began to convulse and gag, breathing heavily. His eyelids fluttered.

"What's happening?" he gasped. "I can't... see!" Song forced herself to calm down. She had to do something, or he would die! Her mind ran through her list of medical knowledge. The first step was to identify the poison. She listed the symptoms... _Vision impairment... convulsions, heavy breathing... _She felt his forehead, which was hot. _...Fever_. As she bent closer, she could hear his heartbeat, which was unusually loud and rapid. She knew the poison to be one thing, a poison she knew well. _Belladonna, commonly known as nightshade or banewort,_ she thought. Hurriedly, she opened the white, travel-stained pack on her back. If she didn't heal him quick, a coma would result, and eventually death. Maiguo examined her with a curious eye. He was testing her.

"There's nothing you can do," he said, folding his arms. Song frantically searched through her bag, finding what she wanted. She lifted the vial of vinegar high. "Longshot!" she called to the silent archer. "Heat this up for me!" The archer accepted the vial and looked at it strangely, but understood why she asked him. He lit one of his arrows on fire with the materials he had and held it near the small vial. Song made him swallow a medicine from her pouch, and a few moments later, she held him up to make him vomit.

"Ahh, so you have a healer," Maiguo mused. He watched as Song worked. "Excellent."

By the time he was finished, the vinegar was sufficiently heated and she took it from Longshot, forcing Kei to swallow it with some water from her own pouch at her side. Song's arms sagged as she sighed with relief. The worst part was over. Thankfully, Maiguo didn't give him a lot of poison. Kei would just need some very strong herbal tea later. Song stood up and turned to Maiguo with a fierce look on her face.

"That was a big mistake," she said to him, readying her slingshot. Both her and Longshot fired their projectiles at once, but Maiguo blocked them with an air barrier, his battle-ready look appearing on his face once again. Lani took that moment to swing her staff at the cloud of poison in the air, dissipating it.

"You know," he said to the blonde airbender, "that was a useless effort. I could pull it all back together in a moment, but this battle just got very interesting," Maiguo said, looking at Song. "Let's see how extensive your medical knowledge really is, little girl. Poisonbending really is an interesting thing." The airbender pulled another small pouch from his side and opened it, releasing another powder into the air. This time, all of them were ready, holding their breaths. However, the poison sped to Smellerbee and Longshot, manipulated to go right up their noses. Both of them choked as the poison entered their systems. "Let the games... begin," Maiguo said, holding out his arms. Song clenched her teeth, accepting the challenge.

* * *

A rush of water pushed Sirena down, and Katara gathered it again to keep her there. Before she could, however, the enemy waterbender pulled herself up, throwing icicles at her. Katara pulled them out of the air and threw some more water at her. The other girl deflected it with her hand, grinning. They were both soaking wet.

"The next thing I'll do I learned from you," Sirena informed her. "It was difficult to control someone's body, so I decided to learn how to _destroy_ it." Katara's eyes widened.

"What...?" A moment later, Katara felt a tingling sensation in her left arm. For a moment, she thought Sirena was going to drain water out of her skin again, but it was much worse. The vibrations grew more intense, causing pain to lance up and down her arm. Katara grit her teeth and gripped her arm with her other hand. "Stop! What are you doing?!" Sirena had an evil grin on her face, and her hands were rigidly positioned to make it look like she was holding an invisible ball, her fingertips almost touching.

"You can take the idea of _bloodbending_ and make it even worse," Sirena said, her black eyes full of hatred. "I can freeze the blood in your veins, or make it explode outward... the possibilities are endless." Katara took a hold of the water in her own arm, trying to lessen Sirena's control over it. The painful vibrations were stopped from getting even worse, but she felt some smaller blood vessels breaking, forming dark bruises on her arm. The pain was getting to be too much. She felt her vision blurring, her own control loosening... she couldn't concentrate... She needed help from _anyone_... _Zuko!_

In that moment, there was some kind of explosion and a loud crackling of energy, the smell of something burning, and then a light thud and a splash of water. The pain stopped. Katara fell to her knees and opened her eyes. Sirena's body lied in front of her, smoldering. She looked around for the source of her death.

"Katara!" she heard someone yell. She recognized the voice all too well.

"Zuko!" she cried weakly. The Fire Lord hurriedly limped over to her, falling next to her on the ground.

"Are you alright?" he asked, hugging her close. "I didn't know what she was doing... I had to stop her."

"Thank you," she said, losing herself in his embrace. "I didn't think I was going to make it." He said nothing, but she still felt a stinging pain in her left arm. She looked down at it, and hurriedly covered it in water when she saw it dark and bruised. The water glowed for a few moments, and when it fell away, her internal wounds were healed. "What are you doing? You're hurt!" she said to Zuko, pulling away from him.

"I'm fine," he said to her. They were interrupted when they heard a loud roar of wind and something crash into the far wall. Both of them turned to look at the source, and saw Yao smashed into the wall, and slowly fall to the ground, unconscious. Meng and Lee were cheering from on top of Appa, apparently being the ones to administer the final blow. Katara put Zuko's arm around her shoulder and helped him over to them.

By the time they were at Appa's side, Azula and Jet came next to them, both unharmed. A moment later, Toph came dragging Aang, who was just regaining consciousness.

"What happened?" the Avatar asked, propping himself up on his elbows.

"We won," Azula answered with a tired grin. Lee and Meng both jumped down from Appa and the young boy rushed over in Yao's direction.

"Yeah!" he cheered. "We showed you, you firebender!" Lee turned around to face the rest of them. "What would you guys do without us?" he asked, grinning to himself.

"Lee! Look out!" Jet suddenly yelled.

"Huh?" the boy asked, turning around to where Jet was pointing.

"No!" Katara shouted. Azula, Toph, Katara, and Aang rushed over to him, but Yao, from the ground, already released the large fireball from his mouth. Lee was unable to move out of the way in time, and it engulfed him. They all looked at him in horror, but Aang, Katara, Toph, and Azula all hit Yao with consecutive blasts of their elements, resulting in an explosion. Yao had no chance of surviving.

"Lee!" Meng cried out, rushing over to her friend. She skidded on her knees over to him, tears falling from her eyes. "Lee, no! You'll be okay! Please be okay!" Katara was the next one to reach the boy, falling to her knees. She used some of the water around her, letting the glow of her healing wash over him. For a full minute, they all waited in quiet expectation. A tear falling from her eye, Katara shook her head sadly.

"He's gone," she managed to choke out. Meng immediately broke down again, and everyone's faces were sad.

"What's going on?" a voice asked from the doorway to the throne room. Only Azula was able to peel her eyes away from Lee's body, and she saw Jojo come into the room, a worried look on her face. June was right behind her. "Oh no..." Jojo said. "Who is it?"

"Come see for yourself," Azula said, averting her eyes. "We weren't quick enough to save him." June crossed her arms emotionlessly, peering down at the boy, but Jojo looked genuinely sad.

"He was a nice boy," the Kissing Bandit said.

"Everyone, stand back," Zuko said, interrupting their mourning.

"What are you doing?" Katara asked him from her position on the ground.

"Just do it," he told them. Everyone stepped back, except for Meng, who was clutching Lee's arm and refused to let go. She was still bawling, and none of them had the heart to pull her away.

June was the one to do it. She grabbed the protesting girl by her wrist and pulled her back away from Lee. "I'm sorry, little girl," was all she had to say.

Zuko stood up shakily, and took a deep breath, concentrating his chi. He moved his arms, and surprising everyone, white flames trailed from his hands. With one gentle movement, Zuko let the fire wash over Lee. Meng shrieked, fighting in June's grip, and Katara cried out, rushing over to Zuko.

"What are you doing?!" she asked him, grabbing onto his arms. There were similar shouts, mostly from Aang, Jojo, and Jet.

"Look!" Azula said, pointing to the white fire. Instead of burning him, the white flames didn't seem to do anything at first. Then, the gaping wound on his chest from Yao began to heal, making Lee glow bright. The others gasped in awe. When the glowing died down, Zuko waved his hand, and the white fire disappeared.

Nobody moved. Lee's eyelids were fluttering, and he opened his eyes, looking inquisitively at them all. He sat up. "Why are you all staring at me like that?" he asked. Meng cried out Lee's name again, and June let her go. The young girl rushed over to him and squeezed him in a tight hug. "Ow, Meng, whatcha doing?" She was crying too much to answer him.

Everyone else turned to Zuko, too shocked for intelligible words. "W-what did you do?" Aang sputtered out. "How'd you do it?"

"Chi is life energy," Zuko said simply, his voice betraying that he was tired. "I thought that chi couldn't only be used for destructive powers for that reason, and it worked. Katara, even waterbenders use chi for their healing."

Katara looked at her hands. "Wow... I guess you're right!" She looked at Zuko again. "But he was... _dead_. We can't bring the dead back to life."

"You did for me," Aang pointed out to her.

"That was Spirit Oasis water. That's different," she said.

"What?! I was dead?" Lee shouted to them, panicked. He was still in Meng's grip.

"They're two different elements, so their healing must be different," Zuko said to her, shrugging. "It was my first time using it, so I didn't know how it would happen. Aang, maybe even airbenders can do it, too."

"Really?" he asked excitedly. "Let me try." The Avatar concentrated for a moment, and thrust out his hands. A gentle, glittering wind immediately flowed over them, making them feel refreshed and invigorated. June and Jojo looked down at their skin, finding small cuts and bruises healed from their battles with the Omashu guards. Aang grinned. And for no reason at all, except for that she loved him, Katara hugged Zuko, smiling. A moment later, Aang put his arms around the two, followed by Toph and Meng and Lee and Jojo. They tried to get Jet, Azula, and June to join.

"I don't know what you guys are cheering about, but the Arcanum is still going to fight the Southern Water Tribe," June said boredly.

"Oh yeah!" Aang yelled out, rushing over to Appa. Unknowingly, he caused the others hugging him to fall over. "Let's go, guys!"

* * *

Song rushed to Longshot's and Smellerbee's sides, checking over them for symptoms, which were already taking effect. She glared up at Maiguo for his idea of a cruel, sick game. "Song!" Smellerbee yelled out. "Help us!" Song's brow furrowed. She was already there, looking at Smellerbee's eyes beneath her closed lids, which she was lifting. She didn't feel her there, so that must have meant that her vision was impaired and her face was numb. She felt the girl's heart, which was slow and weak compared to Kei's previously rapid heartbeat. Next to her, Longshot vomited. "Hehe, Song, that tickles," Smellerbee suddenly said to her, giggling. Song drew back, confusion etched onto her face from Smellerbee's sudden giddiness.

"Monkshood," Song said, identifying the poison.

"Very good!" Maiguo said, clapping his hands. Now for a cure. Once again, Song ran through her list of medical knowledge on monkshood. The plant grew right in the Air Theocracy lands, right in the mountains. She thought about the later effects of the poison, watching the sweat form on both of their brows. Later, they would suddenly find themselves extremely cold, and their heart paralyzed until death. That time wasn't far away.

"Lani!" Song called to the airbender. "I need lots of pure air, now!" The girl jumped at suddenly being addressed, but nodded and held out her hands over the three. She cleaned the air of all impurities, and let a gentle breeze flow over them. As she was doing this, Song sifted through her pack again, finding just the drug she needed. She popped one pill into both of Longshot and Smellerbee's mouths and forced it down their throats. "Done," she said.

"Brilliant!" Maiguo said. "That was a drug to stimulate the heart, correct? Oh, what an excellent idea!" Song furrowed her brow at Maiguo's madness, but had to admit he was a clever killer. So far, neither of his poisons had a definite cure. The medicines were Song's own concoctions. She was a trained healer. Now, Smellerbee, Longshot, and Kei needed time to fully purge the poison from their bodies. Song and Lani rose up to finally defeat Maiguo and end the Arcanum's assaults on Akikaze. Surprisingly for all of them, Kei ascended next to the two girls determinedly.

"You're going down," Kei said.

"Kei! The poison is still inside of you!" Song yelled to him. "You can't fight!"

"I'll be fine," he assured her. "Let's just deal with him."

Lani was the first to attack, swinging her staff and causing a blast of air to rage towards him, but the other airbender dodged around it, circled around, and let off another sound pulse from his body. This one was smaller but faster, and knocked the three of them off their feet and caused them to clutch their ears in pain once again. Song was the first to rise, shooting him with another one of her pellets. Maiguo blocked it with a nonchalant air barrier, but the powder from inside of the pellet lingered and snuck over to him. Maiguo noticed it just in time, and inhaled only a little. Still, he stumbled, dazed. Her sleeping powder almost worked!

Another pellet leapt from her slingshot, and Maiguo's next air barrier was a little too slow. The pellet nearly got through, but it exploded once it impacted with the barrier. The airbender fell back. Kei took this chance and rushed him with his sword, but a blast of air from Maiguo's quick hands knocked him back. Lani jumped over Song, coming down on Maiguo with her staff, but the other airbender dodged and her attack smashed into the ground.

Kei was on him again, swinging his sword with fury. Maiguo dodged back from each attack, snarling at the three of them. He created a quick, offensive air barrier, throwing Kei back again. Before he landed, the warrior hurled his weapon at the barrier, breaking right through. The barrier halted, but it missed the airbender.

"Stupid boy. Now you're without a weapon," Maiguo said, catching the sword in an air pocket. He maneuvered his hands and the air hurled it back at Kei again, but he hit the blade aside with his shield, falling on his behind. Maiguo flipped back, landing on his bison, which stood idle for most of the battle. However, it seemed to be recovering from something. As it held its ears, Song knew that it was in pain from Maiguo's sound pulses. Maiguo tried to get his bison to ram the kids, but he was unsuccessful. It wouldn't even fly away. "Helpless creature! Fly!" he yelled in rage.

As he was having a fit, a sound ray from the side clashed against him, eliciting a screeching sound and knocking him off of his bison. Ruo-Feng was up and back in the battle, one hand held forward and the other above her head, holding a poisonous cloud above her. "Children, stand back," she said to them. The cloud floated through the air, over to Maiguo on the ground, who was covering his ears in pain and writhing. He inhaled a great deal of it. "How would you like to have a taste of your own medicine?" the Chieftainess asked brusquely. The effects of monkshood were already infecting him. Maiguo choked. The four stepped close to him, waiting.

The dark airbender opened an eye and suddenly thrust his hand forward, hitting Song with a blast of sound waves which sent her flying backward. She yelled in pain, falling to the ground several feet away. Kei immediately took action, ending the man's life with his blade.

Neither Kei nor Lani acknowledged Maiguo further, instead running over to Song to see if she was alright. Ruo-Feng stayed and watched Maiguo. It was a shame, and she regretted it, but it needed to be done. He was a plague upon the world and peace itself, when he could have been a kind airbender and a valuable friend. She closed his tormented, wretched eyes with two of her fingers, and then looked to her great city.

Her airbenders and her earthbenders were all returning to the walls of Akikaze, removing the dead and wounded from the battlefield. The three bison were now freed, even though she knew something needed to be done about Maiguo's not-so nice sky bison. Perhaps, with time and kindness, the cruelty inflicted on it would be forgotten, just like the battle that had happened here, a terrible scar on peaceful Air Nomad lands. As she stood straight, a gentle wind ruffled her silky black hair and her bison-patterned shawl, and lavender Akihana petals were scattered over the field. She caught one in her hand and stared down at it.

_Yes, peace has returned to these lands_, she thought, scattering it to the four winds.

* * *

**Author's Notes: We're not done yet! Go to the next chapter for the epilogue!**

**Sorry Tefnut Talvi! I **_**do**_** love your character Sirena, even though Zuko killed her so horribly. You know how much I appreciate my villains, I just had to give her that kind of honor. Remember Piza? He's still one of my favorites.**

**How do you guys like poisonbending and soundbending? The All-Day Echo Chamber in the Western Air Temple is a real thing, mentioned by Aang in that episode. I came up with the idea before I saw that episode, but the addition of that room only helped to solidify my theory! Oh, and Maiguo's poisons are real poisons. Yes, I did my research.**

**Some of you may also be skeptical of the firebending and airbending healing abilities. Well, I'll state the differences between all of them. Fire healing is for the most grievous of injuries, for those that are either recently dead or near death, and used only then. I got that idea from phoenix fire, which also resurrects. It is the most difficult to use and master. Water healing is for specific wounds of many varieties and seriousness. Air healing can be used on multiple people at once, but it is for smaller wounds. I guess if an earthbender channeled chi into the ground, it would make dead plants grow or something. I guess it could be useful, too...**

**Please review!**


	20. Epilogue: Two Months Later

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.**

**Book 4: Air**

_Epilogue: Two Months Later_

Katara looked out at the huge herd of bison behind them, smiling as Zuko's arms embraced her. They were hundreds of feet above the ground, flying over the Earth Kingdom lands to the city of Akikaze. Zuko and Katara led the herd of bison on the back of Bahamut, Zuko's black dragon. Families of airbenders were on the backs of the bison, with all of their possessions strapped down around them. It was a momentous occasion—the Air Theocracy was more than doubling in size because all of the lost citizens from the Western Air Temple were finally migrating to Akikaze.

It was just Zuko and Katara leading the Air Nomads to Akikaze, as everyone else was in the Air Theocracy city preparing a gigantic celebration. People from all four Nations were invited, and it was guaranteed to be a joyous occasion. Everything was peaceful throughout the world, and the Arcanum was vanquished. After Omashu, Aang's party returned to the Fire Nation to see how everyone else's adventures in the other Nations went, as well as share reports. From everyone's battles and investigations, they all deduced that the Arcanum was no more. Nodoka also revealed the shocking revelation of airbenders living in the Western Air Temple, and after many decisions, those airbenders were now being moved to Akikaze to live peacefully and free. Guru Pathik, their unofficial leader, wholeheartedly agreed to the joining.

After defeating Yao, Krag, and Sirena, the group was able to stop Long Feng's army from setting sail to the Southern Water Tribe. It took a lot of effort, but with much persuasion, they were stopped. They proved to the army that Long Feng's machinations almost put them at war again, and now that they were leaderless, they had no purpose.

Katara, who felt openly giddy and free of burdens, grabbed Bahamut's horns and urged him to go faster, laughing excitedly when he did. Apparently, her laughter was contagious, as Zuko was unusually overjoyed. He grabbed the reins of the dragon and had him flip through the air countless times. By the time they were done, they were breathless, but Zuko kissed her. Sometimes, Katara wondered how she didn't suffocate.

The arrival to Akikaze stimulated many cheers and shouts from the people inside the walls and the people in the sky. They passed right over the walls and landed near the bison stables, which were around the main temple. They were largely expanded to fit the amount of bison coming into the town. In fact, the already extra amount of houses was doubled to fit the amount of families coming to live there. They were all given houses, but they had the choice to refurbish them however they pleased. The earthbending builders had become accustomed to living there and didn't want to leave.

The celebrations started immediately. The Avatar Gang largely stayed together during the festival. Northern and Southern waterbenders put on waterbending demonstrations for the whole town to see, playing to the rhythm of their own music. At first, the two Tribes were in a friendly competition about who was best, but quickly banded together when the firebenders joined the competition. The two Nations demonstrated fantastic feats of bending splendidly, and even put up a mock-fight in the middle of the street.

There were tons of people in the streets of the city, celebrating throughout the night. There were firebending magicians, airbending dancers, Earth Kingdom parades, and food of all kinds. Later that night, Katara decided to wander around the city as the group dispersed to have their own fun. Ruo-Feng and the other leaders present were interesting company, but she wanted to do things herself. As Katara was getting up after finishing her meal, Zuko held his hand out to her.

"Come with me," he said.

"Where are we going?" she asked, grinning.

"It's a surprise," he responded with a similar grin. He led her away from the front of the temple, where they were all seated. He weaved her through the crowds, pulling her by the hand, until they ran into June, who was jadedly leaning against a wall, away from most of the crowd. Her Shirshu was with her, as always.

"Oh, so you _did _decide to come," Katara said to her. "That's great! How're things with you?"

"I'm only here because Jojo wanted to see the rest of you," she answered, sighing. "I'm sort of regretting it. It's sort of stupid. So how are you and your boyfriend?"

Zuko chuckled. "We're good. You know, I'm starting to think you really like all of us. We run into you quite a lot."

"Whatever," she responded, rolling her eyes.

"Hey June, it looks like you and your Shirshu have some admirers," Katara said, pointing out a small group of children that were interested in the great beast.

"They're just a bunch of little brats," she said, as one brave boy rushed up to pet the creature. He giggled when the Shirshu nuzzled him with his snout. All of the other children rushed over immediately after. June shook her head, but she was smiling.

"Guess you're both not as fierce as you look," Katara mused, as the first boy was starting to question her about her various snake tattoos and scars. Katara and Zuko left her with the children.

* * *

Meanwhile, underneath the city, in the great library of the temple, On Ji and Teo were rummaging through books. On Ji was reading by the light of the lantern as Teo thankfully remained by her side. She knew he wanted to go up to celebrate, but On Ji was desperate for information. The 'third eye' on her forehead itched slightly as she read.

Finally, she found the right scroll she was looking for. After unfurling it, she saw a sketch of an eye symbol that mirrored the tattoo on her forehead.

"I found it," she gasped. She read the passage: "_The Third Eye, as it is called by modern scholars, is a unique firebending technique possessed by very few in all of history. The earliest known wielder is __Bào Zhà, Chief of the Sun Warrior Tribe, Year of the Serpent 0400 B.A. (Before Avatar). It was given to him as a Curse from a Spirit Woman, repayment for destruction of her lands. After dying, the Eye was passed to his lover, the last person he touched before his death. Ever since then, the Eye has passed through the centuries, death and destruction trailing behind it, for the Wielder, or the Cursed, gains the power of combustion, superheating the air all around them and unleashing it in a mighty explosion of fire. It is given to only Chosen firebenders who can not obtain true death until the Eye is passed on to the next in the line. Only one Wielder is alive at any given time. One may say it is the decision of the user to name it a Blessing or a Curse. The current Wielder is unknown._

_--Taken from Fire Nation texts._"

The young girl let out a breath she didn't know she held and sagged in her chair. Ever since she obtained the Eye, she feared it, thinking she was unable to control it and strike out at her friends. However, she knew how to concentrate the fire in her head and unleash it through the eye. She felt that the Eye actually enabled her to control the ability, and she had it all along. The Eye was only partially concealed by her unruly bangs, but she wished she didn't have it at all. So far, however, she had no accidents with it, but the story of the Eye made her depressed. She wanted to live a normal life, not a cursed one. Teo's warm hand slid into her own clammy hand, giving her an encouraging squeeze.

"I know what you must be thinking," he said to her, staring down at his bandaged legs in front of him. "But you don't have to think of it as a curse on your life. See what it says in the text?" he asked, pointing to the words. "It's up to you to decide if it's a blessing or a curse."

"But it leaves a trail of death and destruction..." she said sadly. Even now, she was afraid she'd accidentally let out a blast and kill them both.

"That all depends on how you use it," he said, smiling it her.

"I... I guess you're right," she said, hit with a moment of sudden realization. She remembered, right before the Combustion Man died, that he said something to her. Even he didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse... But he led the life of a bounty hunter. She didn't. Maybe, she hoped, with this newfound power, she could finally protect the ones she loved... just as her mother died doing. She looked at Teo and smiled. "Thank you," she said. "Now let's go up with everyone else and celebrate."

* * *

After leaving June, Zuko and Katara ran into Sokka, who greeted them with a wave of his hand. In his other hand was a meaty shish kabob, and right behind him were Shuang and Hahn, both with armfuls of food. They passed by Jojo flirting with a large amount of people, Ghashiun, who was there with his father, Upepo and the group of people from the Veldt, and many more. Plays were being performed on the street, as well as puppet shows and various forms of entertainment.

Katara laughed as she and Zuko ran through the street, now with more room on the outskirts of town. "I'm having so much fun," Katara said to Zuko, looking up at the crescent moon.

"Me too," he said to her, smiling. The two stopped for a moment, realizing they were alone on the street. He hugged her from behind as they looked at the night sky. "You know what I like about us?"

"What?" she asked him.

"We've been through so much together," he responded. "It's amazing... I mean, do you remember how much we hated each other?"

"How could I forget?" she asked him, smiling playfully. "You had that ridiculous ponytail."

"Hey."

"Well, it makes our love stronger," Katara continued. "Everything we went through... when our lives were in danger, the fights we've been in... it just shows that we can overcome anything."

"I love you," he said, moving in to kiss her. As their lips were about to touch, both were alarmed by a loud screeching noise and pulled away. "What was that?" Zuko asked, pulling Katara closer.

"Whoa, sorry you two!" a voice yelled to them. They looked up at the rooftops, seeing an embarrassed Malu by the light of the moon. Ruo-Feng was with her. "I'm being taught soundbending and poisonbending by Chieftainess Ruo-Feng. Sorry to disturb you!"

"It's okay, Malu. You just scared us," Katara said to her. She had no idea what that sound was.

"Hey, let's get back to the party," Zuko said to her, taking her hand.

"Alright," she agreed, waving good-bye to Malu.

* * *

Nodoka and Mai never really left the front of the temple, preferring to watch the celebration around them. Nearby, Aang was watching Appa and Yanna as their bison calves were flying in circles around them. As Aang sat with Appa, he was telling a group of children stories about their adventures, as Toph awed many people with her 'sight.'

Nodoka's blue-eyed gaze wandered over to Ursa, who was quietly sipping her drink and sitting alongside Master Qi Yi, leader of Jihen. She made him think about Yasha, and how she was alive this past year. He played with the thought of telling the woman about the true death of her sister, but she seemed to be having a good time. He did not want to spoil it when she thought she was already dead. Ursa seemed to be watching Meng, who was celebrating animatedly with Lee.

* * *

"So Aang, what're you gonna do now?" Lee asked the older boy. "Now there's no fighting left for you to do. The war's been over and stuff."

Aang scratched his head. "You know, I have no idea," the Avatar answered.

"I know what I'm doing," Toph said, walking over to them. "Going back with the parents. I can't wait till I'm old enough to be on my own."

Aang sat down on the ground. "You know, Lee's right. I have nothing," Aang said, suddenly realizing the truth of the matter. He had no home... no family or parents to live with. For the past year, he was usually traveling or living in the Fire Nation palace. "Maybe I'll just keep living with Zuko and help out there. I guess not all the problems are solved in the Fire Nation yet."

"Why don'tcha live with Toph?" Lee asked, crinkling his nose.

Toph snorted. "My parents don't exactly like Twinkletoes."

Aang held her hand. "It's okay, I visit her a lot anyway. What about you guys?"

"I'm going back home. My parents are here, and I'm leaving tomorrow," Lee said. He leaned in close to them and whispered. "They still don't know about what happened in Omashu," he said, snickering. Aang ruffled up his hair.

"And don't let them find out," Aang said, grinning.

Meng, who was previously silent in the conversation, rubbed her arms. "I don't have anywhere to go, either." The other three were silent. "I don't know what to do..."

"Um, excuse me," a gentle voice said to the group. The four looked up at the newcomers.

"Oh, hello, Lady Ursa," Aang said, bowing respectfully.

"Hello Aang, Toph, Lee, and Meng," she said. Qi Yi walked up beside her. "I couldn't help but hear about your loss," she said to Meng.

"Oh, it's okay. I'm fine, really. I might just live in the Palace, like Aang," the young girl said. Ursa put a hand on her shoulder.

"You need a real family," the previous Fire Lady said. "You need love and care. What I'm trying to say, is... how would you like to be part of mine?"

"What? What do you mean?" Meng asked, straightening.

"What we mean is... we'd like to adopt you as our own," Qi Yi finished for her. Meng's jaw dropped, mostly because someone of royalty was offering to give her a home. Ursa was somewhat of a stranger to her, but her kindness was known throughout the Fire Nation and Jihen. Meng knew the woman through her visits to the Fire Nation Palace during the recent two months.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ursa quickly apologized, mistaking her pause for reluctance. "If you need more time to think about it..."

"No, I—I'd love to," Meng stuttered. "It would mean so much for me." And, unable to control herself, she fell into Ursa's embrace, and Meng's tears dripped into her robe. "Thank you..."

* * *

"Wow, I've never seen this place before," Katara said, letting out an amazed sigh. They came to a grove on top of part of the temple, where there was a small pond and two large Akihana trees. The lavender flower petals sprinkled into the air from the slight breeze.

"Luckily we found it before returning to the party," Zuko said. "It's romantic, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," she said playfully. He invited her to sit down next to him on a bench next to the pond, which she did. He put his arms around her, protecting her from the cold. Her hair was splayed across her bare shoulders, keeping her warm. She could feel and hear the beat of his heart as they sat together in comfortable silence.

Zuko looked down at her eyes, gentle and closed, and her hair framing her pretty face. The lavender petals were in her hair, adorning her better than any kind of fine jewelry. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. "Oh, Katara. One day, I will take you as my wife," he said to her, unable to resist himself.

Someone below decided to let off fireworks as Katara put her arms around his torso, hugging him close to her. They lit up the sky in multiple colors, providing quite the spectacle for the two lovers. He really meant it when he said he would take her as his wife. He wouldn't have it any other way. Together, they would raise a family and rule the Fire Nation in a world of peace and balance. He looked to the future with high hopes.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

**THE END**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Wow! We're finally finished with this story. It sort of upsets me that this took me longer to write that my other story, but I had school, and I wrote "Power of a Thousand Spirits" through the summer.**

**Wow, this epilogue had a lot more romance than I intended... but I guess it turned out okay. I hope you all liked it, and I'm glad you all stuck with me throughout this story, despite my slower updating speed. How has my writing gotten better? **_**Has**_** it even gotten better?**

**Alright guys, this still isn't the end of me. Now that this story is finished, I can devote more time to "Distorted Reality." However, I will also start the **_**third**_** story in this series, which will be about the children of the GAang and a new menace that will rise in the world. I'm very excited about the project, so I hope you'll all read it.**

**Guess what? This wasn't just a double update—check the next chapter for all of my own personal notes on both "A World Divided" and "Power of a Thousand Spirits." You might find some interesting information you never knew before or stuff that you just forgot! And if you forget to put me on author alert, I'll put in another update when I get the first chapter of the next story in.**

**Please review!**


	21. Author's Notes

Author's Notes: Here you go, guys

**Author's Notes: Here you go, guys! All my personal notes on "Power of a Thousand Spirits" and "A World Divided" combined!**

**Locations**

Pi-Su- Air Nomad village that Malu lived in. Tucked away in the Cahdeham Mountains

Sozin City- Fire Nation capital

Bai Bai- Trading city located in the Earth Kingdom. Shuang and Haru meet Jin here, when they rescue her from Fire Nation soldiers. They also meet each other as they fight off the soldiers. Jin got there by boarding a ferry out of Ba Sing Se, while Shuang came from the Northern Water Tribe straight to there on a Northern Water Tribe ship. Haru took a ferry from a southern village. Controlled by the Fire Nation

Okamai- A village in the Earth Kingdom where Suki gets healed after being attacked by Azula and her gang; Controlled by the Earth Kingdom

Kaibyaku- Village where Suki meets Nodoka. Nodoka's and Keioushi's hometown; Controlled by the Earth Kingdom

Old Azulon- Old Fire Nation capital, now it is like the slums. It is pretty much for peasants; Controlled by the Fire Nation

Gunjiteki- Fire Nation city that is the base for the military; Controlled by the Fire Nation

Jihen- Last big Earth Kingdom city, as of the conquering of Ba Sing Se. There are many rebel forces here against the Fire Nation; Controlled by the Earth Kingdom

Haiki Cliffs- A narrow pass that goes alongside a mountain. It is very dangerous to cross without an Earthbender. Nobody goes there anymore, but it is the shortest path to Sozin City from Old Azulon. Also, nearby is a range of volcanoes

Toko Tunnels- Only way through the Cahdeham Mountains. It is a complicated twist of tunnels that many have lost their lives in. Cahdeham Mountains are the only way to get to Bai Bai aside from water transport. The mountains also surround Pi-Su. The mountains are not far from Omashu, and Bai Bai is on the Earth Kingdom's southern shores, directly south of the Cahdeham Mountains.

Funauta- Village where Haru boards the ferry to Bai Bai; Controlled by the Fire Nation until the reign of Fire Lord Zuko.

Nei Zhan Fields- A place not far from the Cave of Two Lovers, and is the site of a huge Earth Kingdom Civil War. Home of the Phantom World portal

Huifu Marshes- Marshes in the Northern Earth Kingdom, home to a basilisk

**OC Descriptions**

**Nodoka **is a young 17 year old male that came home from the war after breaking his arm. He is almost fully healed when he meets Suki. He is quiet but compassionate, and speaks when someone needs comfort. He is a native Earth warrior. His mother was Water Tribe, which explains his blue eyes and rare (even in the Water Tribe) silver hair. He reveals that he is always quiet because he was trained to be, in order to be observant of his surroundings. With a stroke of inspiration from Mai, she tries to get him to loosen up a little. He doesn't care much for his father—he mostly went home to see his sister Misu again.

**Physical: **Silver hair, blue eyes, tall and tan. Uses a spear skillfully

**Keioushi **is close friends with Nodoka, coming from the same village. He is an energetic, fun-loving teen that always causes trouble. Gets into fights often. He uses his spiked knuckles as weapons.

**Physical: **Red hair (a rarity in the Earth Kingdom), green eyes, average height and dark tan skin. Has bulging muscles

**Malu **is a 16 year old Airbender from Pi-Su. She fiercely protects the only Air Nomad village left with her life, attacking anybody who comes in range. She also stays hidden very well. She is a free-spirited, peaceful girl who wants to bring peace to the world. Wishes to expand the Air Nomads again once the war is over. She likes scaring the Fire Nation with her rumored and legendary powers over spirits

**Physical: **Black hair, grey eyes. She uses a staff similar to Aang's and is close with her air bison. She is average height and thin, with a normal skin tone.

**Shuang **is a sixteen year old waterbender pupil of Master Pakku. He went with them to the Southern Water Tribe, but when they stop in Bai Bai, he meets Jin and wants to stay with her. He is a kind young man that is very impulsive, but means well. He falls in love with Jin immediately.

**Physical: **Brown hair, blue eyes. His weapon of choice is the club (Similar to Sokka's) and waterbending. He wears the normal Water Tribe blue clothing. He is tall and tan.

**Kei **is a young recruit in the Fire Nation army. He gets second thoughts about it after fighting Iroh, and then he quits and travels with Jet and the gang. He is slightly shy and not very confident in himself. He eventually falls in love with Song.

**Physical: **Light brown hair tied back in a small ponytail and golden eyes. He uses a longsword and shield as a weapon, and wears Fire Nation armor (without the helmet) most of the time. He is normal height and has a normal skin tone.

**Other Characters**

Master Qi Yi—Leader of the Jihen rebellion. "Uprising" in Chinese

The Huan Ying—Evil spirit, took control of the Phantom World and possessed Sozin to start the war. He is the bringer of Sozin's Comet. Aang defeats him in the Phantom World, stopping Sozin's Comet from coming. "Phantom" in Chinese

Ruo Feng—Village Chieftainess of Pi-Su. "Southeast Winds" in Chinese

Sirena—Name of the evil waterbender in "A World Divided." She is stubborn, has a very big temper, and doesn't listen to orders. Her eyes are normally blue but they turn black when she's angry. She hates Yao, but works with him because they have a common goal. Killed by Zuko. Credit belongs to Tefnut Talvi; character taken from her story "Fire and Water."

Yao—Evil firebender in "A World Divided." He is cruel and sadistic, and leads the whole group of evil benders. Killed by Azula, Toph, Katara, and Aang. Credit belongs to Tefnut Talvi; character taken from her story "Fire and Water."

Krag—Evil earthbender in "A World Divided." He is quiet and enjoys killing and listening to Yao's orders. Killed by Toph. He rarely speaks, and he is the brother of Ghashiun.

Misu—Kaibyaku innkeeper's daughter; Nodoka's sister

Qi Rang—God of earth

Nian—Goddess of water

Xiao—Goddess of air

Agni—God of fire

Suji—Dai Li agent put in command after Azula left Ba Sing Se

Dizi—Qi Yi's follower; "Follower" in... Chinese? I don't remember which language I got his name from.

Pasho—An airbender living in the Southern Air Temple a hundred years ago, used to be friends with Aang. Malu's great-grandfather; he also started the secret group of airbenders living in the Cahdeham Mountains.

Ringo—Ruo-Feng's flying lemur; "Apple" in either Chinese or Japanese... I don't remember this one, either.

Baithin—Lead knight of the 'Light Side' village. He is a character in one of my other stories.

Shadefang—A servant in the 'Dark Side' village. She is a character in one of my other stories, too.

Lulu—Jee's wife; Final Fantasy reference

Tereya—Jee's younger daughter; a shy girl (Japanese translation)

Gouina—Jee's older daughter, a pushy girl (Japanese translation)

Yasha—New wife of Ozai, a cruel woman that uses firebending very much, and taught by Ozai himself. She was the daughter of a nobleman before marrying him. She has a kind of malevolent beauty. Her weapon of choice during the eclipse is a great sword. Killed by Guru Pathik. "Demon" in Japanese

Issui—Leader of the kappas; his name also means something, but I don't quite remember what it means or what language I got it from...

Maiguo—An airbender that is traitor to his people. He is an ally of Yasha and attacks Akikaze, but has an ulterior motive to gain control of Akikaze and double-cross Yasha, and free the airbender slaves and revolt against her. He is stopped by Kei and his group. He is also "allies" with Long Feng, but he is _really _allies to Sirena, Yao, and Krag. The four of them plan to double-cross Long Feng and Yasha together, and gain control of the four Nations. Needless to say, they fail. He teaches Ruo-Feng how to bend poison and sound, which he developed himself. Killed by Kei. "To betray one's country" most likely in Chinese...

Lani—An airbender in Akikaze and owner of the flower shop that Song likes to visit; another Final Fantasy reference!

Akihana—"flower of the autumn"

Shaqi—Father of Ghashiun and Krag, leader of the sandbender tribe the Avatar is friends with. "desert dunes"—Ooh, I forget what language this is. I think it was Indonesian.

Baas—Chief of the people in the Veldt "Chief" in Indonesian

Upepo—Medicine woman in the Veldt; she is an airbender; "wind" in Indonesian. Hey, I used that language for some variety!

**Advanced Bending**

**Water**: Bloodbending—manipulating the water inside a person's body. Can be done at the Full Moon, but Katara is the exception. **Used by: **Katara, Huu; variation by Sirena

Plantbending—Manipulating the water within plants. It is much like bloodbending. **Used by: **Katara, Aang, Huu, some swamp benders

Icebending—Not very advanced, many benders can do it. It lowers the temperature in water. **Used by: **All waterbenders, Shuang is the strongest icebender in the world

Steambending—A little more advanced than icebending; it is much like airbending. It heats the temperature of water. **Used by: **Some skilled waterbenders—don't need to be a master to use

Healing—Only a select few have the power to heal the chakra routes in a person's body. It uses water as the catalyst. **Used by: **Most female waterbenders (because of training) and Aang

**Air:**Soundbending—A very advanced method of airbending. It manipulates the sound waves in the air to cause damage to people. It can cause permanent damage in the ears. Maiguo learned it by experimenting in the All-Day Echoing Chamber in the Western Air Temple. **Used by: **Maiguo, Malu, Ruo-Feng

Poisonbending—Manipulating the chemicals in the air to make it into visible poison. An airbender can put it into another body, poisoning them. The air can carry such harmful substances and other chemicals. **Used by: **Maiguo, Malu, Ruo-Feng

Healing—Learned from Zuko, an airbender can release small amounts of chakra into the air, healing many people over a wide radius, albeit only a little bit. **Used by:** Aang, Malu

**Earth:**Sandbending: Most earthbenders can bend sand. Only the sandbenders of the Si Wong Desert are extremely proficient at this. They developed the idea of carrying around sand in a gourd when a bender travels away from land. **Used by: **All earthbenders, Haru is proficient, as well as the other sandbenders

Metalbending—An advanced earthbender can bend the impurities in metal. **Used by: **Toph, Xin Fu

**Fire:**Lightning—Focusing the energy in your body and separating them and putting them together at just the right time can produce lightning. **Used by: **Ozai, Iroh, Ursa, Azula, Yasha, Zuko, Aang, Piza

Blue firebending—Using the chakra to focus energy into your hands to bend chakra in the form of fire. **Used by: **Ozai, Azula, Piza, Zuko, Aang

White firebending—Using chi to focus energy into your hands to bend chi in the form of fire. It is the most advanced type of firebending. With every use, it absorbs the spirit energy of the user and those around him, shortening their life spans. **Used by: **Ozai, Zuko

Combustion—A firebender can achieve combustion by superheating the air all around him, then unleashing it in a huge explosion. **Used by: **The Combustion Man, On Ji

Healing—A firebender who has learned that fire is powered by life energy, chi, can use this. It can even restore life to those that have died very recently, if they have few wounds. **Used by**: Zuko

**Poison Bending Notes:**

Poison: Known as nightshade, banewort, belladonna

Maiguo grinds it down into a powder and lets the air carry it

Effects: Vision impairment, convulsions, fever, loud heartbeat, rapid breathing, coma, death

Heal: Song induces vomiting, and gives warm vinegar, some water, and a strong tea afterwards

Poison: Monkshood

Maiguo keeps most of his poisons powdered in pouches, including this

Effects: Burning, numbness of tongue, throat, and face (immediate), nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, slow, weak pulse, chest pain, giddiness, sweating, convulsions, extreme cold later, paralysis of the heart until death

Heal: No antidotes, except lots of oxygen, drugs to stimulate the heart

Found: In the mountains near Akikaze


	22. Out of the Shadows, Into the Darkness

Author's Notes:

**Author's Notes:**

_**Out of the Shadows, Into the Darkness**_** is here! Sorry, this is about a day or two late and I forgot all about updating this to tell all you guys... but for those of you who forgot to put me on author alerts, the new story in the trilogy is here!**

**Summary: ****An ancient enemy is back and hungry for revenge, armed with a plot to destroy the whole world. Hope comes in the form of the gang's children-but can they save the world and everyone they love?**

**Hope this helps!**


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